Tenki no Ko: After Story
by Jonathan Sharp
Summary: Three years have passed since that fateful day, and now, Hina and Hodaka are finally reunited. Things have indeed changed since then, but will their relationship remain the same, or will it blossom into something else? Or in other words, a slice of life fanfiction to satisfy my cravings for a fluffy 'aftermath' story for these two lovebirds... NO LONGER UPDATING
1. Meeting You Again

**Tenki no Ko: After Story**

"We're gonna be alright!"

His words resonated deeply within her soul, echoing throughout her ear drums and finally reaching the deepest crevices of her heart. _We're gonna be alright…_

Even with half of Tokyo submerged under the great expanse of the ocean, even after being separated for 3 years - everything was going to be alright now that she was back in Hodaka's arms..

"Hodaka, I've missed you so much.." she muffled into the folds of his windbreaker as her close embrace with him only tightened. All those pent up feelings of yearning for him were starting to rise to the surface, pouring out from her soul through the tears trickling down her cheeks.

"I've.. I've missed you too, Hina-san." He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as his arms pulled her closer to his chest. He rested his head on her hair, breathing and taking in the familiar and comforting scent.

The tranquil sounds of the never-ending drizzle of rain had drowned out anything else in the world, washing them with a sense of peace that they hadn't felt in their lives for what seemed like ages. It was as if those 3 years of sorrow and loneliness from their separation was all just a dream, and this was the reality that they had woken up to.

"How did you find me?" Her gentle voice had broken through the peaceful silence.

Hodaka didn't know how to put it into words. Perhaps it was pure luck that he'd found her here, praying to the Gods for the rain to stop. "I just knew you were here.."

He could hear her letting out a content hum as he felt her head resting on his shoulder. He swore that he heard a few muffled sobs coming from her, which only made him wrap his arms tighter around her body. All he wanted to do was stay like this forever, holding her in his embrace. It was the only thing he'd been wanting to do after all these years apart.

Eventually, they finally parted from their hug, much to their reluctance. And both of their cheeks were glistening with raindrops and tears. The smile that adorned both of their faces were worth all those years without each other. But then, a giggle soon erupted from Hina's lips as a grin broke all over her face.

"W-What's so funny?" Hodaka giggled confusedly as his eyebrows cocked into a puzzled look.

"Hodaka.." she tried to say between her giggles as she wiped away the tears, "..you've really grown."

Now that he thought about it, Hina was about shoulder-level compared to him. 3 years ago, they stood head to head. Now, he was _way _taller!

"Y-yea.." he chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The smile bubbling all over her lips sent sparks flying in his heart. That smile and that laugh of hers; it was intoxicating. He could never get enough of it.

"Well, where are you going after this?"

His trance on her gorgeous face had been snapped. "Uh, umm..," he stuttered as a mad blush formed all over his cheeks. He hoped she hadn't noticed him staring at her for so long. "I.. I'm not sure. I didn't really plan on anything other than meeting you here.."

He felt an arm sling around his own, pulling him closer towards her direction. "Then c'mon," he heard her chime sweetly, "why don't you come over to my house and I'll make you some lunch." A big and comforting smile curved all over her lips.

She really was _the _sunshine girl.. That smile on her lips could light up the entire world for all he cared. "Really? I wouldn't want to trouble you with-"

"Hodaka.." She brought her hand to his, intertwining her fingers around his own. "You've waited 3 years to see me again, and you came all the way here to Tokyo.. The least I can do is make lunch for you."

"Unless of course.." her lips began to curve into a little pout, "..you don't like my cooking?"

"W-wait that's not-" The heat rose to Hodaka's cheeks as his mind turned into a flustery mush. "Your cooking is amazing, Hina-san!" he said with the utmost conviction to his voice.

She tried to hide her childish giggles with her free hand. She couldn't help but think Hodaka looked cute when he got flustered like this. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Now c'mon, let's get going."

Hodaka let out a sigh of relief. Even with the eternal gloomy weather, Hina's giggles were like rays of sunshine bursting through the clouds.

Along the walk through the rainy streets, they reminisced about the past, remembering the almost unbelievable things they'd gone through together. Throughout it all, their fingers remained intertwined, neither of them showing signs of breaking their tight hold on each other.

"So what happened to your old home?"

"Oh, it got submerged under the ocean," she replied almost nonchalantly, as if having her entire home getting repossessed by the ocean was just another daily occurrence.

"What?!"

Hina shook her hand to ease Hodaka's worry. "Don't worry, Suga-san helped us rent out a new apartment," she said with a chipper smile.

"Suga-san? Really? He did that for you guys?" He knew that his former 'employer' had grown close to the Amanos, but he didn't realise he'd done something like that.

"Of course. Natsumi-san and him even offered to become me and Nagi's legal guardians until I turned 18 y'know," she said matter-of-factly.

She sighed, remembering those days after she'd come back to the Earth, when child protective services were thinking of taking Nagi away from her.. "If it weren't for them, I don't know what would've happened to me and Nagi.." she said softly.

"Woah.." Suga-san really had done so much for these two.. it was no wonder why the man seemed to show him so many photos of the Amanos along with him and Natsumi together. They'd all grown so close together these past 3 years, almost like they were an actual family now.. And he wasn't around to see any of it. Somehow, somewhere, deep down in his heart... he felt a pang of loss and jealousy.

"Anyway, here we are!"

They stopped in front of a quaint little apartment complex. It looked almost similar to the one they'd lived in 3 years ago.

Hina led him up a flight of stairs and down the hallway. The view of Tokyo was pretty spectacular from the open-air hallway. It had been years since he'd seen the skyline of the city, and this was a far cry from the scenery of green and grass back home.

They finally ended up in front of a door at the far end of the hallway.

"This is it!"

Hina untangled her fingers from Hodaka's, and the absence of that warm feeling of her hand had left him with a little pout on his face, unbeknownst to him. She sifted through the pockets of her school blazer and fished out a bundle of keys. She kicked off her shoes to the side as she opened the door to let Hodaka in.

Hodaka let out a silent gasp as he took in the sight of Hina's home. It wasn't as small as their previous apartment had been and the furnishings looked much better. Heck, they even had a TV! He felt a little jealous thinking about the dump of a one-room apartment he was renting at the moment..

"Oh, Nagi isn't home yet," Hina chimed once she noticed the absence of a pair of shoes near the front door.

"Senpai?"

Hina silently giggled at the word. How cute of him to still call her little brother 'senpai' even after all these years..

"He's probably still at school.. Oh! Speaking of school, how was going back to school like for you, Hodaka?," Hina casually asked as she took off her blazer, revealing the pink hoodie she'd been wearing under it.

He let out an audible groan. "Ughh.. I don't want to talk about it. I'm just glad I've already graduated."

"So you're gonna live in Tokyo now?" he heard her say with a faint chuckle as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Yea, that's the plan.." he sighed. "What about you?"

He heard the clicking of the stove followed by a loud sizzle noise from the kitchen. "Well, I've got a year or so left until I graduate. So until then, I'm working part-time at Suga-san's office."

She appeared back into the living room, this time wearing a red apron over her hoodie. A feeling of intense deja vú hit Hodaka all at once. It was just like the first time he went to Hina's home…

"Make yourself at home. I'll be done with lunch in no time," she chippered with a sweet smile.

"Thank you.. Hina-san."

"Hodaka, c'mon. Enough with the honorifics. You can call me Hina y'know.." she shook her head with a smirk all over her lips.

"R-right. Sorry.." he blushed. It felt a little silly, now that he thought about it, to keep using honorifics with someone as close to him as Hina was..

He sat down on the carpet beneath the low table before stretching out his legs. His eyes scanned the room, taking in every little detail of the quaint little apartment that he now sat in. A small smile curved his lips, a feeling of pure relief and happiness slowly seeping into his heart. He couldn't even describe how relieved he was to know that Hina and Nagi lived in a nice little home like this. Hina didn't have to worry too much about the money, and she could live life like a normal schoolgirl, how it was always meant to be.

He chuckled to himself, remembering the stupid words he'd said all those years ago. _'I'll earn enough to support the three of us!' _As if a 16 year-old boy like him could've found a job to do something like that..

But back then, he really meant what he said. He'd loved Hina and Nagi like they were family, and he'd have done anything for them..

As Hodaka crossed his legs and leaned his body forwards towards the low table, he felt something poking his abdomen. He rummaged around his coat until he felt something hard in his pocket. He dug his hand around in it until he came across the touch of a round and hard object. He took it out, his eyes widening in surprise once he saw what it was.

"The ring!"


	2. Catching Up

**Catching Up**

How had he been so careless?! He was supposed to give it back to her when they met just now! He mentally cursed himself. _That would've been the perfect opportunity.._

He'd kept it for 3 years after he'd found it in the puddle, as if it had dropped from the sky above. There was no time to dilly-dally, he needed to give it back to her soon.

"Lunch is almost ready!" he heard Hina announce from the kitchen.

Well, it wouldn't be as romantic as giving it to her back there at the street where they met.. But there was no other time than now!

He rose up from the carpet and walked over to the kitchen. He took a peek and saw Hina pouring the fried rice into a big bowl and seasoned on top of it were fish crackers. He chuckled to himself. That was one of the few meals that would stay in his mind forever, besides the McDonald's hamburger she'd so generously given to him when they first met.

"Oh, Hodaka!"

From the corner of her eye, she saw him taking a peek at her. She shot him a cute smile before taking an egg and cracking it over the middle of the rice.

"Food's almost done. I'm sure you're pretty hungry."

"Y-yea.." he said as his stomach coincidentally grumbled.

_Wait.._ He mentally slapped himself, snapping back to the task at hand. "Hina, I have something to show you."

"Alright, let me put the food on the table and-"

_Click~_

"Onee-chan, I'm home!"

Hina's eyes lit up at the voice. "Oh, Nagi's back!"

Hodaka's initial pout from the interruption of giving Hina his ring had quickly disappeared once he realised who it was at the door.

_'Senpai!'_

He hurriedly shoved the ring back down into his coat pocket. He'd have to wait until later to give her back the ring.. But for now, he was eager to meet his senpai.

"Welcome home, Nagi-kun," he heard Hina say as he made his way to the front door.

He peeked a little, smiling at the sibling banter that Hina and Nagi were having as she greeted him at the entrance. But what surprised him the most was how _tall_ Nagi had grown. He was almost as tall as he was!

He wasn't sure how Nagi would react to seeing him again after so long. The last time he'd seen his face was on that fateful day, three years ago, when he tackled down the officer in that old abandoned building...

"Hey Onee-chan, whose shoes are-"

Nagi's words were caught in his throat once he saw the tall teenager standing just in front of him. It was like seeing a ghost..

"H-Hodaka-san?!"

"Hey senpai!" Hodaka greeted back with a little wave of his hand.

Nagi's eyes seemed to move up and down as they scanned Hodaka's body and frame with utmost detail and perception. It was like he was trying to figure out whether he was the real thing..

"Senpai.. you've really grown taller," Hodaka finally said, snapping Nagi out of his seemingly intense gaze on him.

He still couldn't believe it.. "Y-you didn't tell me you were coming back.." he eventually squeaked once his mind finally processed the fact that Hodaka was right there in front of him.

Hodaka sheepishly grinned as he absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I wanted it to be a surprise.."

Nagi stepped closer and closer towards him. Eventually, he stopped right in front of Hodaka before he lifted up his fist towards him. Hodaka on the other hand had his eyebrows cocked in confusion. What was Nagi trying to do?

And then, with a half-smile and a sigh, Nagi finally said, "Welcome back, Hodaka-san."

He knew instantly what his senpai was trying to get him to do now. He didn't wait any longer to give his senpai the best fistbump there ever was, smashing his fist into Nagi-senpai's as the both of them erupted in cheers. He took a step further and pulled Nagi into a smothering hug.

"H-Hey, Hodaka-san! Don't you think a fistbump is enough?!" he shrugged as his cheeks reddened like a ripe tomato. He tried to wiggle himself out of the hug, but his efforts were all in vain.

"I missed you, Nagi-senpai." Hodaka wouldn't let go of his tight hug.

His face only intensified in colour with each second trapped in Hodaka's hug. "Fine..," Nagi eventually sighed in defeat as he semi-reluctantly wrapped his arms around Hodaka. "I missed you too, Hodaka-san.."

Hina stood by the side with a dreamy little smile plastered all over her lips. She chuckled to herself. It was nice seeing her little brother be so cute with Hodaka, and the fact that they were hugging just made her heart flutter. The three of them really did feel like a family even after all this time..

"Lunch is ready, so I'll go set the table," she chimed in as she left for the kitchen.

Eventually, Hodaka finally let go of the hug. He laughed seeing Nagi's bright red face, still embarrassed from the hug he'd given him.

The two of them made their way to the living room. Their eyes - well, Hodaka's more than Nagi's - sparkled with delight and wonder, amazed at the display of food on the low table. Fried rice, topped with a raw egg in the middle, accompanied by fish crackers on the side and freshly snipped green onions - this was culinary heaven for Hodaka!

He quickly sat down by the low table, preparing his chopsticks to dig in.

"Itadakimasu!" they all said in perfect unison. After that, they all dug in to Hina's mouth-watering food.

"_Oishii! _This tastes amazing, Hina!" Hodaka beamed in delight as he continued to shove down more of the rice into his mouth.

"T-Thank you, Hodaka." The blush on Hina's cheeks were a pretty obvious sign of her flattery at Hodaka's compliment. And that abashed little smile on her lips almost sent Hodaka's heart fluttering into the air.

Nagi eyed the both of them as a little smirk curved on the sides of his lips. His older sister was totally head-over-heels for Hodaka. Not like that was any secret to him.. But he couldn't help but notice that she looked a little happier and livelier now that Hodaka was back with them.

"So, senpai, you're in middle school right now right?" he heard Hodaka ask.

"Yup, second year actually. Hey, didn't you go back to school too?"

Hodaka nodded as he absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck. "Yea, but I've already graduated. That's why I'm here in Tokyo actually.."

"To see my sister?" Nagi's smirk only grew wider, now with an added look and undertone of deviousness to his lips.

Hodaka almost choked on his rice. His cheeks were taking on a red hue now. "N-No! W-Well yes. I mean-"

Nagi's lips were barely able to hold back his snickers, and Hina on the other hand was trying her best to hide the blush forming on her cheeks.

"T-That isn't the only reason. I'm here to look for a job as well!"

"Well, either way, I'm sure Onee-chan's super glad that you're back in Tokyo," he smirked. "I mean, all she does is really talk about you, right Nee-chan?"

The blushes wouldn't stop coming, and now Hina's face was as red as the blood in her veins. So red in fact, she was using her hands to cover the embarrassed look on her face.

"N-Nagi! D-Don't say that!" she stammered as she hid her face in her hands.

Hodaka was gobsmacked, as if this was the revelation of a lifetime for him. "W-wait, she does?"

"T-That's not the point!" Hina continued to stammer as she now swayed side-to-side in her seat.

Their mutual embarrassment was stopped once they saw Nagi giggling his heart out. "You guys are blushing so hard right now!" he laughed as he wiped away an imaginary tear from his eye.

The two of them looked back at each other, noticing the fact that they did indeed look like ripe tomatoes.. Funny, they had 'confessed' their love to each other three years ago, yet here they were, blushing and being utterly embarrassed by Nagi's teasing. The realisation of that fact had caused them to erupt into giggles, then laughter, until all three of them were laughing their hearts out.

After three years of waiting, of yearning to escape that cramped and isolated island, of aching to meet Hina and the rest again - this was worth all of that. This.. this was where he was supposed to be. Back with them, back at **home**...

Minutes turned to hours, and before they knew it, the sun - or what little of it there was - was starting to disappear into the horizon. They'd spent hours chatting and talking, filling up Hodaka with everything that'd happened in their lives ever since he was gone.=

The laughs and smiles they'd shared, the somber moments when they'd reminisced on the hard times - they'd told him everything. It was only then that he realised how much he'd missed out on their lives. Of course now, he was back. And he would be there for the both of them, that was his promise.

"You're gonna leave so soon?"

Hodaka sighed. "Yea, it's getting pretty late right now. And I don't want to trouble you two anymore," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Hey now!," Hina said as she skipped closer to Hodaka. "You weren't a trouble at all. And you're welcome to come back here anytime you want."

"Thanks, Hina.." he said quietly. After that, they shared their goodbye hug, with Hodaka wrapping his arms around Hina a little tighter than usual. Good thing Nagi wasn't here, or Hodaka might've taken the chance to hug him again as payback for what he did during lunch.

The two of them, alone.. His mind suddenly lit up like a bulb. This was the perfect time to give Hina the ring!

He reluctantly let go of his embrace on Hina before placing his hands on her shoulders. "H-Hina, before I go, I've actually got something that I want to give you.."

"Really now?"

Hina eyed him curiously, noticing one of his hands going down to rummage his pocket. Eventually, he fished something out, but she didn't know what since it was hidden in his clenched fist.

She noticed Hodaka's breathing starting to turn slightly erratic, as if he was trying to contain his nervousness. "C-Close your eyes.." he said to her with as much suaveness in his voice as he tried to muster. But it came out more awkward than he'd liked it to be..

"Okay Hodaka. Whatever you say.." she giggled before closing her eyes. She had to admit, she was a little excited with what Hodaka was planning to surprise her with.

Soon, she felt a hard and cold object surround her finger. Before she could even start to guess what Hodaka had slipped onto her finger, he finally spoke up.

"You can open your eyes now.."

She did just that, and once she finally laid her eyes upon what Hodaka had placed onto her little finger, she let out a gasp. Her eyes were lighting up like the fireworks she'd cleared the weather for..

_'No way..'_

She knew that design. She thought she'd lost it all those years ago when it slipped from her grasp atop the gargantuan cumulonimbus in the blue sky. Memories were starting to flash back into her mind all at once. That night, when he'd gifted the ring to her, when she showed the effects of her duties as the sunshine girl to Hodaka, when they embraced and cried in each other's arms… She didn't know it, but tears were starting to trickle down her cheek.

"H-Hodaka.. is this..?"

He nodded as his eyes gazed into hers. "It is.." He gave her that same toothy grin that he'd shown her all those years ago in that hotel room.

"H-Hodaka.."

She thought she'd lost it, yet here it was, back on her finger! Who knew a ring would mean so much to her...

But that ring, even if it was just a birthday gift for her '18th birthday', was Hodaka's confession to her. And to Hina, that ring symbolised the love she'd share with Hodaka forever..

It was like something had come over her. Like a spark had ignited in some deep crevice within her heart. Before she knew it, she'd closed her eyes, her face inching ever closer towards Hodaka. There was no hesitation, no second thoughts. She wanted this.. She was finally going to answer his confession..

Hodaka's breathing hitched for a moment once he realised how Hina looked as she closed her eyes. He didn't know why, but she looked absolutely beautiful.. Then, the realisation of what she was trying to do dawned on him. She was trying to kiss him!

It felt almost natural for him to close his eyes as well as his face seemed to move by itself, inching forward to meet Hina's halfway. He took her hands into his, intertwining their fingers together.

This would be their first kiss. Was the front door the best place to do it? Not really… but they didn't care. They'd been holding their love for each other inside themselves for so long that none of that mattered anymore. All they wanted was each other…

He took a peek, noticing Hina's quivering lips. She was nervous… And so was he, if he was being honest with himself. So, _so_ nervous..

He didn't know how far apart their faces were, but soon, he felt it. The tickle of his cheeks by her breaths of air, the heat radiating from her face, and then.. the soft feeling of her tender lips on his.

They were clumsy at first, adjusting their faces until they'd both reached a perfect angle that was comfortable for the both of them. But after that, they didn't care about the awkwardness nor the embarrassment on their faces, all they wanted was to savour this feeling forever.

Soon, Hodaka felt the warmth of her hands escape his grasp, feeling them wrap around his waist as she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

He followed suit, running a hand through her silky black hair while another went to brush her cheek. He felt like exploding there and then.. The pure, unadulterated feeling of happiness pouring out of his heart almost felt too much to bear. This… this was what he'd been waiting - aching - to do ever since they'd been separated three years ago.

Hina felt the same way too. The love that'd been trapped all this time inside her heart was pouring out like a gusher. The gentle feeling of Hodaka's rough lips on hers was making her heart melt. Her hands moved up from his waist towards his head, pulling him even closer as the kiss grew more passionate. All she wanted to do was stay like this forev-

"Gosh, you guys are really good at kissing.."

In a split second, their eyes widened like saucers. Exasperated gasps escaped both of their lips before they separated almost instantly from each other. They looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.. Eyes wide, mouth agape, and most of all, a big red blush all over their cheeks.

"N-Nagi?! How long have you been standing there?!" Hina shrieked as she backed away from Hodaka.

A devious smirk curved on the ends of his lips. "Mm~ not sure. But I didn't want to interrupt your tender moment."

"N-Nagi-senpai, H-Hina. I-I'll be making my way home now. Thanks for everything.."

"H-Hodaka wait!"

Before she knew it, he bowed in respect and dashed through the hallway. Even in the dark night, the mad blush on his face was as obvious as ever.

Hina quickly shut the door soon after before she slumped down on the hard surface with her back leaning on it. Her fingers instinctively brushed against her lips, as if her mind was asking itself whether or not what'd just happened was a dream or reality. It had to be a dream, right? There was no way she'd just kissed Hodaka.. But it was _real._ She felt it!

"I.. I kissed him.." she muttered to herself. "I.. I actually _kissed_ him.."

"You two really do love each other.." he sighed. He shook his head as a half-smile formed on his lips.

Suddenly, he felt his cheeks being pinched like never before as his head was shaken about.

He turned to look at the source of it; Hina, who had a pout plastered all over her face.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You ruined my kiss, dummy!"

She quickly got up before huffing off into her room. She heard Nagi apologising profusely from the doorway. Even with the apparent anger on her face, deep inside, her heart was fluttering, and all she could think about was one single thing:

_'I kissed him!'_

As Hodaka ran through the streets with his coat hoodie propped up to cover his face, the only thought rushing through his mind again and again was one single thing:

_'I kissed her!'_

* * *

_**A/N: If you liked the story, leave a favourite and follow since I'll continue to update this story. And don't be afraid to leave a review if you have anything in mind :)**_


	3. Figuring It Out

**Figuring it Out**

She slumped deeper into the park bench as the slivers of raindrops continued to run down the top of her hoodie. It was like the sky itself understood her emotions; embarrassment and shame..

She cursed inwardly, as she'd done for the past few days or so, before putting her head in her hands.

Why did she have to be so bold? Why did she have to go and do something like that to him?! Was it too sudden? She'd just met him again after three years and then they finally did it.. Everything was going so fast and- Gosh, her head was spinning!

"Ah, Hina-chan!"

The greeting had startled her, as she let out a little squeak before looking up to see the source of that familiar, feminine voice. Her face quickly softened into a look of relief once she saw who it was.

"N-Natsumi-san.."

Natsumi, wearing her office attire with a raincoat draped over it, gave Hina a smile as she plopped right beside her on the bench. "So, you called?"

Hina sighed. "Yea.. I've got something to talk to you about.."

She'd texted her last night about an 'important meeting' to discuss something.. and Natsumi was the only lady she could trust with this sort of information. She was her closest friend now besides Hodaka.. and it wasn't like Suga-san was any good at these sorts of 'things'.

"Well, what's bothering you Hina-chan?" Natsumi asked with a hint of curiosity to her voice.

"It's.." She didn't even know if this was going to be of any help to her situation. But she had to tell someone _other _than Nagi, as 'experienced' as he was with these sorts of relationships… She still hadn't forgiven him for what he did that night.

"It's about Hodaka.."

She could see the sparkle in Natsumi's eyes when she'd mentioned that name. It was like she was remembering a million memories all at once, judging by how wide her eyes had dilated in a span of a second.

"Hodaka? I heard he's finally back! I haven't had the chance to actually meet him. How is he? Geez, how _old_ is he now? Eighteen, nineteen? I'm sure he's grown!" she began to ramble and ask with more curiosity growing in her voice.

"H-He's fine.." Hina spoke softly. "I.. I've already met up with him a few days ago.."

Hina could feel Natsumi's eyes scanning her, trying to read the expression on her face. The initial upbeat tone to her voice had given way to a more serious one. "Judging by that sad look on your face, I'm guessing that what you want to tell me isn't exactly good news now, is it?" Hina heard her say.

She slumped back down into the bench before placing her head back into her hands. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she slowly shook her head. "It's.. it's complicated.."

She felt Natsumi's arm wrap around her shoulders. "C'mon, you can tell me, Hina-chan. What happened?"

Hina kept silent for a while, trying to think of some way that she could tell Natsumi everything that'd led to the 'incident' and what had happened after that.. But perhaps she was staying silent a little too long once she heard Natsumi say something bordering on insane:

"Did he break up with you?"

Hina's cheeks burned with a deep blush as she stammered through her words. "W-What?! No! W-We didn't break up!"

"Hmm? Then what is it?"

"We…" She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the words that would come out from her lips, "We kissed.."

Natsumi's eyes seemed to widen more than they had just now. This time, the sparkle and amazement in her eyes was so obvious it was like the sun was shining right from her pupils.

"No way! You guys actually did it?! Congratulations!" Natsumi shook Hina around in glee at the news. Hina had expected her to be somewhat thrilled to hear that, but she didn't expect her to be _this _happy!

But eventually, Natsumi's glee had died down once she noticed Hina's sad expression. Natsumi tried to piece the puzzle together in her head, but something just wasn't adding up.

"I don't get it, Hina-chan. Why do you look so sad? I mean, you've finally kissed the boy of your dreams! So.. shouldn't you be a little happier?" she questioned as she scratched her head in bewilderment.

"I am.. but.. but… I don't know!" Hina groaned as she threw her hands into the air in a fit of frustration before they came back down to cover her face once again.

_'Hmm…' _Natsumi hummed to herself in thought. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"

Hina let out a dreary sigh before her lips began to part. "Y-Yea… Nagi saw us. A-And then Hodaka ran away before I could even talk to him and then-"

"Woah woah, hold on. Nagi saw you two kissing?"

Hina nodded in confirmation with that droopy face of hers.

"And where exactly _were _you two kissing?"

Hina's sad and troddened look had quickly adopted a deep and embarrassed blush. "W-Why do you need to know that?"

"Well, I've got to know all the details right? I can't help you if you don't tell me," she replied with a smirk.

This reminded her of the days when she was still working under Kei-chan, interviewing the oddities of Tokyo and asking them every single little detail that she could squeeze out of them to put into their articles. Ah, good times.

"At the front door.." Hina said with a sigh. She was starting to realise how stupid the whole idea sounded now in retrospect.

"And so Nagi saw you two kissing there?"

She felt like crawling into a shell and hiding there forever. Each question Natsumi asked was just making her face redder! Geez, was all of this really necessary to get the advice she needed?

"Y-Yea.."

"So?" she heard Natsumi say. She turned to look at her, and this time Natsumi was barely suppressing her chuckles. "Look, Hina-chan. Who cares if he saw you? You do realise that _all _of us; me, Kei-chan and Nagi, all know that you and Hodaka are a couple, right?"

That didn't help in the slightest. If anything, all it did was make her blush even harder than before! Heck, she didn't even know how to respond to something like that!

"Uhh.."

"And you said Hodaka ran away after that?" she heard Natsumi ask. Hina nodded again.

Natsumi tried her best to hold back a chuckle, but in the end it came out more as a snort than anything else. The image of Hodaka dashing away with a mad blush all over his face just seemed so funny to her. Gosh, Hodaka could be such a clutz sometimes..

"Look, that just means he's embarrassed about this whole thing as well.." she said as she patted Hina's back. "I mean, I'd react the same way too if someone caught me smooching with my boyfriend."

"But what should I do? Everything just feels so awkward now ever since then.." Hina groaned.

A small little smile perked up on one end of Natsumi's lips. She had just the right advice for this. Perhaps it was the most _obvious _advice that she could give to mend the relationship between these two lovebirds.

"Ask him out on a date."

"W-What?! A date?!"

Natsumi leaned back in her seat, her face showing a look of reassurance and confidence mixed together into one. "Yup. A date. You guys go on a date, and you'll be able to talk it out with Hodaka. I mean you guys _are _a couple. I'm surprised you two haven't gone on one yet," she chuckled. "Then again.. you did just meet him again after three years, so there's that…"

She thought about it for a moment.. Avoiding him and waiting for this whole situation to blow over was only going to cause a rift between them. She needed to see him again. But it wouldn't be a date, now would it? More like a meeting of sorts, at some restaurant or cafe.. Which was basically a date now that she thought about it..

"R-Right. I'll do that," Hina finally said with a new sense of conviction. "Thanks, Natsumi-san!" She went in and hugged her before skipping off to god knows where.

"See you later, Hina-chan!"

Natsumi shook her head as a chuckle emanated from her lips. Those two lovebirds were hopeless. And to think Hodaka had escaped police custody and ran across railway tracks just to find Hina again. And now she was hearing that he was embarrassed by a kiss? Somehow, she found that kinda cute..

"Ah.. what a clutz he is.."

Now, all Hina needed was to text Hodaka.. Set a time, set a day, and everything would be set in place for her to finally meet him again. This time, they'd set things straight - _without_ her little brother's prying and spying eyes.. She began typing away on her phone almost immediately.

[_Hey Hodaka. Do you wanna…_]

* * *

"Ah, Hodaka-san. Back so soon?" he greeted as he leaned back into his reclining office chair. A big smirk was plastered all over the middle-aged man's lips as he eyed Hodaka with curious eyes.

"Yea.. I hope I'm not troubling you right now," Hodaka said as he bowed for formality's sake.

"No no.. not at all. We're just about done for the day." He gestured goodbye to the two secretaries leaving the room. They waved back in return and bowed before walking through the door, leaving just Hodaka and Suga alone.

"Well, what brings you here, Hodaka-san?" Suga questioned as he leaned into the chair with his arms crossed behind his head.

Hodaka took a seat on the chair across Suga's table. "I just wanted to talk, that's all.." he trailed. The sight of Ame the cat sleeping on one end of Suga's table in all his fat gloriousness sparked a little smile on his lips.

"Hmm.. talk?" It wasn't like Hodaka to want to 'talk' with him.. "Ah! I forgot to ask! How did your meeting with Hina-san go?" he asked with an expectant little smirk on his lips.

"It uhh.. went well.. I guess?" Hodaka shrugged but not without an awkward rub on the back of his neck.

"Is that all you're going to say? At least tell me what happened.." Suga chuckled.

Hodaka sighed. The memories of that day were still fresh in his mind. But most of all, _that_ memory was still lingering inside his brain, popping up at random moments during the day and sending his mind into a tizzy and forcing a blush to pop up on his cheeks. Which was what was happening right now, now that he was recalling that memory…

This was going to be a long talk~

"W-Wait, you two kissed?!"

Suga's surprised reaction had woken up even Ame, who usually fell into such a deep sleep most of the time that nothing could ever wake him up. But this time, the fat cat jumped up at the noise with his fur on end before letting out a meow of annoyance once he found out the source of that noise.

"Y-Yea.." Hodaka nodded abashedly. He hoped that the blush on his face wasn't too noticeable to Suga-san.

"Well, what happened next?" Suga sat on the edge of his seat, his eyes glued to Hodaka.

"Well.." Gosh, he felt ashamed just thinking about it. Perhaps it was okay to omit this from his story? Yea.. that would save him some face from Suga-san..

"C'mon kid, spit it out. You're leaving me hanging," Suga questioned inquisitively as he crossed his arms.

No, there was no way he could leave this crucial part of the story out. That _was _the reason he came here; to ask Suga-san's advice. Right, well.. he just had to suck it up and go through the embarrassment.

"After that.. I.. I ran away.." he said almost as quiet as a whisper.

Suga's previous enamored look didn't take long to turn into one of pure shock, with his mouth agape. Even Ame looked like he was just as flabbergasted as his master was.

The middle aged man adjusted his spectacles out of reflex, perhaps thinking it'd help him make sense of what he had just heard come out from Hodaka's mouth.

"You're kidding right?" He just couldn't believe Hodaka would do something so.. stupid. He didn't tackle down a cop_ and _get arrested so that Hodaka could go and save Hina, just to have him do something like this…

Hodaka stammered for moment, "N-No! Nagi saw us and then.." He sighed as his shoulders slumped and his head drooped downwards, "And then I felt embarrassed and ran away back home.."

But what else was he supposed to do? Stand there and laugh at Nagi-senpai's quips after smooching with his sister?

Suga rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment, letting everything process in his brain for a bit. "Look kid," he sighed, "I'm not exactly the best at giving advice for.. situations like this.."

He sat upright in his seat, his body posture displaying much more seriousness than before. "I'm an old geezer when it comes to romance compared to you, kid. But even _I _know that _that_ was a stupid move.. You've gotta find some way to make it up to her. When was the last time you met Hina-san anyway?"

"Umm.. 3 days ago?" Hodaka answered.

"And have you texted her or anything ever since then?"

Hodaka shook his head.

"Right.." He adjusted his spectacles again. "Like I said kid, I ain't the best person to go to if you want advice on this sort of thing. All I can tell you to do is to talk to her."

He looked at the clock on the wall. Its big hand was just past 6, which meant he'd been here talking to Hodaka close to about an hour or so.

"Well kid," he got up from his seat and poked Ame to get him up from his slumber, "I gotta get going now. And you probably should too."

Hodaka sat there for a moment. He'd been putting his search for a job on hold for a few days because of this whole situation he'd brought on himself.. But now, his new goal was to meet Hina again. That was all he cared about now.

"C'mon kid, get going. I need to lock the office.." He turned behind him to see Suga jangling his keys in one hand and carrying Ame in another. And that cat let out an annoyed meow as well to accompany Suga's insistence.

"Right.. sorry." He quickly got up and walked towards the door. He pondered in his mind, thinking of some way he could meet her. Barging to her house would be too sudden.. And Nagi would most probably be there. That would definitely make things awkward. No.. maybe-

"I'll talk to her at a cafe or something..," he thought aloud.

"So, a date?" Suga chimed in.

"Y-Yea.. something like that."

Suga chuckled as he placed his hand on Hodaka's shoulder. "Look, kid. Whatever it is you're gonna do, I'm sure things will work out. Now I gotta get going. See you some other time, Hodaka-san," Suga said as he waved goodbye.

"Goodbye, a-and thank you, Suga-san!"

Now, all he needed to do was find the time to meet up with Hina. But would it be a date though? A date.. they'd never actually gone on one before. But that was because of the three year separation that they had to go through..

He whipped out his phone and scrolled through the list of his contacts until he came across her name. Hina..

He began typing away his text message to her. How should he type this to her? Be straight up? Be subtle about it? Hmm...

[Hey Hina, sorry for not texting you sooner. But would you like to hang out?]

His finger hovered over the 'send' button. His heart was racing. He didn't know why he was feeling so damned anxious. It was just a simple text.. and this was Hina for crying out loud. But even then.. he couldn't bring himself to do it..

He let out a defeated sigh. He saved the message as a draft and pocketed the phone into his windbreaker as he made his way through the labyrinth of hallways surrounding Suga's office. He'd do it once he got home. He'd be able to crack up something a little more elegant there.

* * *

Hina stared at her phone, her thumb trembling on that little arrow that once pressed, would send her message to Hodaka. She hunched over her phone, trying her best to stop the raindrops from getting onto the touchscreen.

She let out a frustrated groan. She'd been staring at her little screen for 10 minutes now, and yet she still hadn't found out what to text to Hodaka.. This was hopeless… She decided that she'd deal with it once she got back home.

The sun had since set into the horizon, and the dark skies of the night were starting to set in. She was going to need to head home fast before nightfall.. For now, she made her way through the rainy streets as she propped up her hoodie to cover her head.

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like an agonizing eternity of walking through the same set of hallways again and again, he'd successfully made it out of the complex. For once, he actually liked seeing the dark, gloomy weather covering the skies of Tokyo. It was better than the claustrophobic space inside the cramped hallways..

He took out his phone as he looked at the time displayed on the home screen. '7.02'.. It was starting to get late. He might as well head home now. He couldn't stop the urge to bring up the drafted message again. His eyes were glued to it while he walked down the street. All he could think about were ways to fix the words..

The light pitter-patter of rain and the sounds of cars zooming past him were all drowned out by his absolute focus towards the text on the screen. He felt annoyed at the words.. He couldn't possibly say everything he'd wanted to through a text like that. And for him to text her after running away like that? He felt like such a total loser..

He was so lost in thought that he had momentarily lost sight of what was in front of him. Before he knew it, he felt his body collide with something - or rather, someone.

He lost his balance and fell onto the ground with a hard thud as a groan bellowed from his mouth. He managed to catch his phone just in time before it could smash into the cold hard concrete. _Phew.._

But then his ears perked up when he heard somebody else cry out in pain. "Ow!" It was a feminine voice..

He shook himself out of his daze before looking towards the unfortunate person that he'd just bumped into. "I-I'm so sorry! Are you o-"

He could feel the blood instantaneously exiting the blood vessels in his face. There was no way…

The girl in front of him who lay on the ground, with her face covered by the white hoodie worn beneath her school blazer, finally turned to look at him. Her angry expression had quickly disappeared once they'd locked eyes.

He couldn't believe it. Those twintails, those gorgeous blue eyes.. He felt like he hadn't seen her in ages.. But most importantly; what the heck was she doing here?! And by the look of her own stunned eyes, she was thinking the same thing too.

"H-Hodaka..?"

"Hina! Oh my god I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Hodaka wasted no time in helping her up. He quickly got her up on her two feet as he tried to 'dust' off the water that'd soaked her school blazer in a vain attempt.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were in front of me and-"

He suddenly blushed like a tomato once he realised how close they were. And the blush forming on Hina's cheeks was a clear sign that she had realised that as well. They quickly backed away from each other once they felt the looming sense of awkwardness starting to resurface between them.

"S-Sorry Hina.." He was sorry for more than just making her fall. If only he had the courage to tell her that right now..

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault. I wasn't looking where I was going either," Hina softly apologized as her eyes avoided his gaze.

Everything around them had gone quiet. It was just the two of them on that street, save for the few pedestrians walking by now and then. The silence was killing them. They both had something to say to each other, something they so desperately needed to let out.

Hina steeled herself as she parted her lips to say what had been bottled up for so long inside her heart.

"There's something I need to tell you!"

"I have something to tell you!"

They both cried out in coincidental unison, with their faces wearing deep blushes and stunned looks once they'd realised they'd just jinxed each other.

"Y-You go first," Hina stuttered.

Dammit. He couldn't back out now. So much for explaining everything through a text. Now he was going to have to say it to her face..

He absentmindedly rubbed the side of his arm as he tried his best to keep his eyes on Hina. But the embarrassment he was feeling was causing his eyes to look at anywhere but her.

"I'm sorry, Hina.." he said softly.

"Hodaka, I just said that it wasn't your fau-"

"No! Not about that! I'm sorry for.." he sighed as his shoulders slumped, "I'm sorry for running away.."

Hina kept silent for awhile. That was never his fault. She was the one who'd leaned into him like that, who'd pulled him in to kiss her. If anything, this was _her _fault.

"No, Hodaka, it was-"

Before she could even say anything else, Hodaka continued.

"I was - _am_ \- an idiot for doing that. A-And I hope you can forgive me for that.." His head drooped towards the ground as he tried to hide the deepening blush on his cheeks.

"Hodaka.."

He heard her footsteps amidst the roaring sounds of the city, and before long, she had already closed the distant gap between them. He felt her taking her hands into his as her warmth enveloped his fingers.

"..You shouldn't be sorry for any of that. If anything, it was my fault - and sort of Nagi's as well! B-But mostly my fault! I shouldn't have forced you to do it.." Now, it was her turn to droop her head towards the floor.

He looked stunned at what she'd just said. "F-Forced me? W-What the heck are you talking about, Hina? You didn't force me! In fact.." he couldn't believe he was saying this, "..I loved it."

He quickly tried to change the subject. "B-But that's not the point! I still want to make it up to you.." he said with a new sense of determination to his voice. He squeezed her hand as he looked straight into her blue cerulean eyes. "Hina.. would you like to go out with me? A-Anywhere you want. It'll be my treat."

"Yes."

"R-Really?"

Hina giggled at the surprised look that'd formed all over his face. "Do you even need to ask? Just tell me where and when and I'll be there."

"Alright!" he said with an enthusiastic grin spreading across his lips. "Does tomorrow afternoon sound good?"

"That sounds perfect!" Hina beamed with a huge smile on her face as she let out an excited giggle.

What were they doing, acting like a pair of prepubescent teens discovering love for the first time? And yet here they were, a pair of 18 and 19 year olds, acting all awkward about a kiss and a date. The hilarity of it all mixed together with the excitement of tomorrow's promises made them burst out into laughter.

They hadn't realised how close they'd gotten during the entire time they'd been talking. And once they did, their laughter had slowly simmered down to a halt. Their faces were mere inches apart - again. It was just like that very moment a few days ago..

"Hodaka.."

"Hina.."

This time.. he wouldn't run away. This time, no matter if pedestrians or heck, even Nagi by some unlucky chance, were to see them, he wouldn't run away. Not again.

And this time.. no one else was around to interrupt her moment with Hodaka. No one else.. not even-

_Bzz~_

She felt her phone ringing in her pocket, cruelly yanking the both of them out of the 'moment'. She let out a frustrated groan as she fished the phone out reluctantly.

'Nagi' was what it said in big letters all over the screen, with a smug little picture of him taking centre stage.

"S-Sorry Hodaka. I've gotta take this.."

Hodaka only gave her a reassuring smile as he watched her step away and answer the phone ringing incessantly in her hand. He couldn't believe it. This all had to be some cruel joke by life..

But he was quickly pulled away from his thoughts once he heard Nagi-senpai's exasperated voice coming from the phone.

"Nee-chan, where the heck are you?! It's already 8 'o' clock!"

"I know, I know.." She really didn't.. Time had slipped past her the entire time. "I.. I was just hanging out with a friend. I'll be home soon."

"You better! I was so worried I almost called Suga-san!"

"Alright, alright. I'll be back before you know it."

She quickly hung up the phone before turning back to Hodaka. The twintail-haired girl flashed him an apologetic smile.

"S-Sorry about that. Nagi was just worried about me."

"It's okay," he chuckled reassuringly. "You should go back before Nagi-senpai gets even more worried about you."

Dammit, did she have to? She couldn't leave her little brother alone at home right now... But she couldn't and she _wasn't_ going to leave it like this.

Hina walked over to him without saying a single word, and before long, the gap between them was closed once more.

"Uhh.. Hina?"

She tip-toed to elevate herself until she was at Hodaka's level. Without skipping a beat, she quickly leaned in.

Hodaka's eyes widened when he felt her lips pressing themselves against his cheek. The soft sensation quickly went away, much to his extreme reluctance, as she pulled away from his face.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered into his ear as a sweet smile graced her features, but he could totally see the blush on her cheeks.

"Yea.." he trailed. He quickly shook himself out of his daze. "Be safe Hina!" he waved at her.

"You too!"

Soon, it was just him. Alone. He let out a huge sigh of relief. Things had turned out better than he'd expected. _Much_ better than expected. Well, tonight would've been close to perfect if Nagi-senpai hadn't interrupted him again..

His fingers ran across the part of his cheek that Hina had sweetly kissed. He felt his heart flutter just thinking about it. But tomorrow, he'd repay the favour. He was sure of it.


	4. The Date: Part 1

**The Date: Part 1**

Hodaka took a long, good look at the contents of his wallet, or a lack thereof.. 'His treat', he said. He was going to have to go on a tight budget for a few weeks - scratch that, a few months more like - if he was going to treat Hina to a spectacular date..

_1000.. 2000.. 5000.. This should be more than enough for today. Hopefully.._

It was a good thing he'd brought with him more cash than when he did the first time he'd arrived in Tokyo three years ago. But once this date was over, he'd need to set his sights back on finding a part-time job again to pool the finances to go to college. But he set that thought aside for the time being, instead focusing his attention back to the matter at hand: what to wear for this special occasion?

He stared at the bare contents of his small cupboard. A few shirts lined the insides with just a few more folds of clothes arranged neatly within the drawers. He rubbed his chin absentmindedly as he pictured the combinations of clothes in his mind. He certainly wasn't going to wear the usual blue windbreaker.. _That would look too shabby for a date.._

Eventually, with a sigh, he finally settled on a black t-shirt and a red button-up to wear over it. He shoved a disposable raincoat into his knapsack, just in case of any rain - not that it wasn't already raining non-stop every single day.. He hoped that, for at least one day, the rain would stop, just for him and her..

His brown eyes met the sight of the clock on his barren wall, its small hand slowly approaching 11. It was almost time.. and for some reason he could feel his heart beat faster. Whether in excitement or nervousness, he didn't really know..

He made his way out of his cramped apartment as he shoved the keys back into his pocket. He looked out at the Tokyo sky from the balcony of the hallway. The skies, for once since he'd first arrived back here, were starting to look less grey and gloomy than usual. Perhaps his hopes were not misplaced after all.

He walked through the streets of Tokyo, enjoying the stroll now that there were less people being crammed onto the streets compared to a usual weekday. But he couldn't shake the ever-burning question that was still lingering inside his mind: where to go?

He really didn't have much of a plan if anything for where he was going to take Hina on their date. He'd stayed up almost the entire night just trying to crack his head figuring out the best places - and also the semi-affordable places - that he could bring Hina to. Although, he did try his best to throw aside any care for finances or budget when he ran through the destinations in his mind. Hina at least deserved that much, and he wasn't going to go frugal on her anytime soon.

'Just tell me where and I'll be there' was what she said. If only he knew how hard it was going to be to decide 'where'..

Before he knew it, he was already at the steps of the flight of stairs leading up to Hina's apartment. He hadn't been there since four days ago, since that whole.. 'thing' happened that'd all led to this. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all if it meant he could take Hina out on a date..

He could feel his heartbeat increasing with each step he took up those flights of stairs - and he was definitely sure it wasn't because he was unfit or anything.

Once he reached the top, he made his way to the familiar door at the end of the hallway. Standing right in front of it, he lifted his hand to press the doorbell. He didn't know why, but his body felt like it was tensing up and he even noticed his fingers jittering ever so slightly. It was just Hina for crying out loud, so he just couldn't understand why he felt so nervous?!

He quickly shook the thoughts away from his mind and wasted no time in pressing the doorbell. He heard the ringing echoing from behind the door, followed by the sounds of footsteps growing closer and closer towards the entrance.

"I'll get it!" he heard a voice shout from inside.

He heard the clings and clangs of the locks and before he knew it, the door wooshed open to reveal a familiar face.

"Ah, Hodaka!" Nagi beamed in delight.

"Heya, Nagi-senpai," he greeted. But he couldn't help but feel an odd pang of awkwardness in his heart knowing what the middle-school student's actions had gotten him into..

"Nee-chan! Your boyfriend's here!" he saw Nagi shout into the expanse of the apartment. Just a few seconds later, he heard a familiar feminine voice echoing out as well.

"W-What?!," Hodaka heard the voice shrieking almost in surprise. "Uhh.. O-Okay! Tell him I'll be there in a minute!" He swore he just heard the sound of a few things falling down inside that apartment..

"She said she'll be out in a minute," Nagi said as he leaned on the sides of the door. A small smirk curved on the sides of his lips once he noticed the blush that'd so evidently popped up all over the face of the 18 year-old standing in front of him.

Hodaka's brain had almost short circuited for a moment. '_B-Boyfriend?!' _His brain repeated that word over and over again in his mind. All this time, he never realized that he'd never been referred to as Hina's 'boyfriend'..

"So, going out on a date with my onee-chan huh?" Nagi-senpai's question had managed to pull him out of his momentary daze.

"Y-Yea, I guess you could call it that.." he quickly stammered as he regained back the little composure that he'd lost.

Nagi-senpai seemed to eye him intently with a little smirk on his lips. He had no way of anticipating what he was going to say next. And what he did say next had completely caught him off guard.

"Hodaka, are you nervous?"

"Wha- What makes you think that?" Hodaka stammered again as he crossed his arms.

"Your hands are shaking, _and _you're swaying side to side like you've gotta go to the toilet," his senpai stated almost matter-of-factly.

Hodaka's eyes darted to his hands, and sure enough, they were shaking even more than before! He soon realised how much he'd been swaying as well, so he quickly tried to correct that by leaning on the wall besides Nagi-senpai.

He heard Nagi-senpai chuckling beside him. He turned around to see him shaking his head with that smirk of his growing even wider with each chuckle that escaped his lips. "Why _are _you nervous? I mean, it's just my onee-chan we're talking about here.."

That was a good question, and maybe he'd find the answer to it soon enough.. "I.. I don't know myself.." Hodaka said faintly as his eyes seemed to keep their gaze downwards towards the floor.

"Well, where are you going to take her to?"

He should've expected this question coming. And yet, he still felt so unprepared to answer it. "I.. umm.."

Nagi-senpai's eyebrows were quickly cocking into an expectant look. "Well?"

He didn't even know if he could trust Nagi with the truth. The many times he'd teased him before were starting to make him doubt the whole idea of him being his 'big brother'..

He let out a tiny gasp once he felt Nagi's hand on his shoulder, pulling him out of his frantic and chaotic thoughts to formulate an answer. That'd got him to finally lift his gaze upwards from the floor. But the smirk he'd been expecting to see on his senpai's face was no longer there.

"You don't know where to take her, do you?"

How did he always manage to see through him? Hodaka let out a heavy sigh as he hung his head in defeat, "No.. No I don't. I spent all night just thinking about it.."

He heard Nagi-senpai let out a short chuckle. "You don't have to think so hard, Hodaka."

He looked back up to face Nagi. He noticed a small smile starting to curve on the boy's lips. "Senpai?"

"Look, you don't have to bring her out to anywhere fancy or anything like that, y'know. Just.. take her to anywhere where _you _would have fun, and she'll enjoy it as well."

"Really?" Hodaka was skeptical. Surely it couldn't be that simple.. "Are you sure?"

"I'm serious Hodaka," he reassured with a nod.

Well, Nagi _was _a lady's man. If anything, _he_ was the one who'd have the best sort of advice to give him in this moment.

But soon, Nagi's smile had morphed into a more serious look, much more serious than before. In truth, there was something that he needed to let Hodaka know, and maybe it'd help ease the hopeless teenager's nervousness..

"Hodaka.. I don't know if you've noticed, but.. my onee-chan isn't some fancy girl who wants you to take her to the fanciest restaurants or stuff like that. Heck, just take her to a cheap ramen shop by the side of the street and she'll be happy.. All my onee-chan wants is to be with _you_. She doesn't care where it is you decide to take her to.. just as long as it's with you, and she'll be happy.."

Hodaka felt speechless. 'Just tell me where and I'll be there…' That was what she really meant.. Hearing those words from Nagi had almost left him shocked and in a way, so relieved. It was so obvious, yet why couldn't he have seen this? How had he been so blind? Was that how much Hina.. _loved _him?

"Senpai.."

Nagi continued on with a deep sigh escaping his lips. "The only reason I'm telling you all of this is because.. It's.. It's been a long time since I've seen her this happy. For all those three years when you were gone, it was like she barely ever smiled.. Sure, she smiled from time to time, but I could tell she was never really happy. But now that you're back, it's like something inside her has finally changed. I haven't seen her this happy since.." He felt himself choking back a sigh in his throat, "..since before our mom passed away.."

He absolutely hated bringing up the memories of that part of his life. But he needed to let Hodaka know. It was his repayment for making his sister so lively again..

But then, Nagi let out a gasp once he felt a pair of arms wrap around his body. "H-Hey!" He wanted to protest and shove Hodaka away, but then the 19 year-old finally whispered back.

"Thank you, Senpai. Thank you.."

Nagi let out a defeated sigh while a small smile began forming on his lips. "Yea yea.. just make sure you don't ever make my onee-chan sad.."

"I won't. I promise you," Hodaka replied with a strong tone of conviction to his voice. "You really are a big brother to me, y'know.." he said softly.

"Of course I am," Nagi chuckled as he shook his head. He supposed that now that they were here like this, he'd tell Hodaka something else that he needed to know. "And for the record, I'm sorry for uhh.. 'interrupting' you two like that the other day.."

Hodaka let out a little laugh. He didn't think Nagi would actually apologize for that. Hina probably must've told him to do it before this..

They quickly separated from their hug, and not long after, they heard a familiar voice coming from the doorway.

"Alright, I'm here. Sorry for keeping you waiting."

For a moment, he felt like he'd lost all the wind in his lungs when his eyes caught the sight of the twintail-haired girl. He thought she looked absolutely amazing. She wore a simple light blue blouse coupled with a wavy knee-length skirt to accompany it. It was simple, yet for some reason, it took his breath away. He even noticed that her face was glowing more than he'd seen before this.

"Hina.. You look beautiful.." he blurted out. The realisation of what he'd just said caused a blush to spread all over his cheeks within a second.

"Th-Thanks.." Hina's own cheeks were starting to blush as well. She hadn't expected him to be so blunt about it.. and she couldn't deny that it'd sent her heart fluttering in her chest.

On the sidelines, Nagi could only shake his head with a sigh watching the both of them act like a bunch of lovestruck dorks.. "Shouldn't you two be getting on with your date?"

That was enough to snap the both of them out of their lovestruck dazes. "R-Right!" Hodaka spoke up almost immediately as he ignored the blush deepening on his cheeks.

Hodaka, with a newfound conviction and determination from Nagi's out-of-the-blue 'lecture' he'd given him a few minutes ago, quickly took Hina's hand into his. He looked to her and gave her a big grin. "C'mon Hina. Let's get going."

It didn't take long for Hina to adopt a bright smile. And just as he'd always felt for as long as he'd known her, that smile was enough to light up his entire day.

She returned the gesture, intertwining her fingers with Hodaka's as she pulled herself closer to him. "Alright, let's go! Take care of the house while I'm gone Nagi!"

"Yea yea.."

The two of them walked down the hallway hand in hand. Come to think of it, this was going to be the first date that they'd ever go on together. The thought of it left Hodaka with a little feeling of nervousness. But thankfully, most of it had gone away with the help of Nagi-senpai's words.

"Hodaka! Take care of my onee-chan, you hear me?" he heard Nagi say.

"I will!" he said back, his voice echoing throughout the expanse of the hallway.

Hina chuckled to herself hearing Nagi's words of concern. Did her little brother even have to ask?

As they made their way down the staircase, Hodaka couldn't help but run through the multitude of places he had in mind to take Hina to as their first destination. 'A place you'd enjoy..' Well, there was _one _place he'd been wanting to go to ever since he'd set foot in Tokyo. Perhaps it was a suitable enough destination for a start.

"So, where are we going Hodaka?" he heard Hina ask. He turned his head to see her wearing a cute little smile with an expectant look on her face.

"It's.. it's a surprise."

She giggled excitedly in return. "Well, I can't wait to find out."

The journey to their first destination would take them through trains and ferries. Throughout it, all Hodaka could think about was Hina's eventual reaction to the place he was taking her to. But the ever-apparent smile on Hina's face was enough for him to set aside those thoughts for the time being.

Finally, after all the modes of transportation they'd had to go through just to get there, they finally arrived. Hodaka's eyes immediately lit up with childlike wonder and awe once he finally caught sight of the tricolour sign on the arch in front of them.

_'TOKYO DOME CITY'_

Ever since he was a kid, he'd been dreaming to go to a place like this. But of course, with his financial situation _and _his status as a runaway back then, he never was able to see that dream come true. But now, here he was..

He took a glance at Hina. Her eyes seemed to sparkle at the sight in front of them; the gigantic Ferris wheel and the roller coaster tracks looping in and out of it.

"Woah.." she gasped. "I've only seen this place in brochures and magazines.."

She'd heard all about this place, from its gigantic baseball stadium to the iconic rollercoaster that went through a building.

"I've always wanted to come here. I'm glad that it hasn't flooded yet after all these years," Hodaka said with a little chuckle as his eyes remained locked towards the gargantuan amusement rides in the distance.

"Me too.."

Hodaka felt himself letting out a gigantic sigh of relief hearing Hina say that. But before he even had the chance to say anything else, he felt his hand being tugged.

"C'mon Hodaka! Let's go!" Hina was already tugging him towards the amusement park.

He chuckled to himself as he went along with Hina. The excited and happy-go-lucky smile on her face was infectious, and soon enough his own lips were curving into a beaming smile. This was what he'd been longing to see for so long; the happiness of the love of his life..

As they got closer to the entrance of the park, the true scale of the roller coaster was finally starting to dawn on them. From what he'd heard before this, it stood at a height of a whopping 80 metres - and from where he was standing, it sure did look like it.

"It looks taller than I imagined," he heard Hina blurt out. He felt her squeezing his hand just a little bit tighter.

"Yeah.. it sure does." He was no expert, but if he guessed correctly, 80 metres was _way_ more than 10 stories..

They walked up the stairs leading to the entrance of the ride. _Thunder Dolphin_ was what it was called, judging by the signs posted all over the entrance. They bought their tickets at one of the many kiosks lining the sides, and thankfully, the prices weren't all too bad - for Hodaka at least. They entered the line - or rather, the point of no return - and waited for their turn to enter the ride.

From the line itself, they could already hear the screams. If he wasn't anxious before, then he totally was anxious now. It wasn't like he hadn't fallen from the sky before, but then again.. that was too long ago to even remember.

He took a glance at Hina whose grip on his hand seemed to be tightening with each inch they made closer towards the gates separating the line from the rollercoaster itself. He could tell that she was anxious about this as well, judging by her darting eyes everytime the screams of the riders bellowed throughout the park.

"Hina, you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah.. I'm fine.." she replied having been snapped out of her thoughts.

But he wasn't convinced so easily. "Are you scared?"

"Pfft.. scared? N-No.. not at all.." she said trying to sound as unphased as she could by the screams that continued to echo in her ears.

"Are you sure?," he asked with a hint of doubt in his voice. "Because I am.."

She looked at him almost in disbelief. "You can't be serious..," she giggled. "You're scared of roller coasters? Even _after _we've literally fallen through the sky?"

"Yea.. kinda.." he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "The only reason I didn't look scared when we were falling back then was because I was more focused on saving you.."

Her eyes seemed to soften once the memories of that day flooded back into her mind. "I guess I've never really thanked you for doing that, now have I?"

Hodaka chuckled. "You know you don't-"

He felt Hina pull him down by the hem of his shirt before feeling a familiar pair of lips kissing his cheek. It was enough to send a blush spreading all over his face again.

"And that's a thank you.."

She pulled herself closer to Hodaka before resting her head against his shoulder as they stood there in the line. She took a glance at his red face, and she couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"I'm kinda anxious too, to be honest. I've never been on a roller coaster before.." she sighed.

"That makes the two of us," Hodaka chuckled lightly. "But that's why I'm here!" Hina couldn't help but laugh along at his enthusiasm.

Soon enough, they finally reached the end of the line. They could feel their hearts pounding in their chests once the gates opened to allow them to get into the cars. Hodaka stepped in first before helping Hina into the seat beside him. He made sure to buckle his seatbelt and Hina's as well, earning him a blush and a thankful smile from her.

The ride operator came along and brought the restraints down to securely hold them in their seats. Before long, the siren blared, signifying the start of the ride. The coaster chugged along and was eventually making its way up the steep slope.

He couldn't deny how fast his heart was beating at the moment. He looked towards Hina to see her clenching her eyes shut. A pang of sympathy washed over him for a split second, and he immediately took her hand into his, interlacing his fingers with hers tightly.

Hina peaked her eyes open ever so slightly to see her hand tightly wrapped around Hodaka's. She gave him a thankful smile before closing her eyes shut again. Even after falling through the sky, she still hated heights..

It felt extremely uncomfortable to be going up the slope at such a steep angle. And the fact that the coaster was taking its sweet time chugging up to the top was only building up the suspense of the drop that was to come.

He looked beside him, and he almost regretted doing that when he saw how high up they were from the ground. He gulped back a lump in his throat. But the view.. the view of Tokyo from up there was spectacular - and he wanted Hina to see it.

"Hina, open your eyes!" he tried to say amidst the loudness of the gears pulling the coaster up.

It looked like she'd heard him when she slowly began opening her eyes, only to close them immediately once she looked down. "I.. I can't.." she cried as she recoiled deeper into her seat.

"Hina, it's okay! Just look at me!" He squeezed her hand just a little tighter to reassure her that he was still there by her side, like he'd always be.

She slowly but surely opened her eyelids once again. Hodaka could tell how scared she was, but her blue eyes soon softened once they focused on him rather than the ground below them. Her erratic breathing had noticeably calmed down as well once she saw the sweet and reassuring smile on Hodaka's face.

"There you go!" he chuckled heartily. "Now look behind me Hina!"

Her eyes began to focus towards the view behind Hodaka, and for a moment, she felt absolutely awestrucked. Tokyo, in all its bustling glory, even after having half of its area flooded by water, was still as beautiful as ever. The last time she'd had a view like this was when she prayed on top of the Roppongi Hills Observation Deck.

"Woah.." All of her fear and anxiousness being on the rollercoaster had been swept away. "It's so-"

_Click~_

_Oh no.._ It didn't take long for the fear to set back in like a punch to the gut..

The roller coaster had reached its peak, and the fact that she felt the car slowly moving straight and then downwards was a confirmation of that. She immediately turned her head towards the cars in front of her. She saw the frontmost one disappearing, and soon, she felt her own car sloping downwards at an increasingly steep angle.

_Oh no oh no oh no..._

"It's the drop!" she heard Hodaka shout beside her. It took her less than a second to wrap both of her arms around him like her life depended on it.

She could feel it, they were about to go down! And then.. she saw it. Her car was now slopping at such a steep angle that she could see the bottom of the drop right below her.

In a split second, the roller coaster zoomed down the slope at such a high speed that the G-force hit them immediately, sending their bodies squeezing into the seats. She tried to scream, but the immense downforce of the coaster was causing her gums to flap in the wind. It was strong enough to make her feel like she'd just had the wind kicked out of her lungs.

But when the roller coaster had recovered from the drop, she felt the air in her lungs returning, allowing her to finally let out her scream of terror. She heard somebody else screaming and shouting, but she couldn't tell if that was Hodaka or the other riders. But the feeling of a pair of arms wrapping around her body gave her a little hint..

The rollercoaster twisted and turned, and it reached its second highest peak as it zipped along the top of the building, giving them an amazing view of the city below them. Eventually, it went through a hole in the building and finally came to a stop after a few more ups and downs.

As the restraints automatically released themselves and the belt buckles came off, they sat there for a few seconds, still stunned by the entire thing. Until eventually Hodaka let out a wheeze of relief as he sank into his seat.

"That.. that was-"

"Amazing!"

He turned to see Hina with such a big smile on her face that it made his heart leap out of his chest for a second. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with even more excitement and adrenaline than he'd seen before.

"That was incredible! I didn't think it'd go that fast! It felt like my chest was being punched!" Hina said in pure awe at what she'd just been through.

"I know! But the loops and turns felt awesome right?"

"Yea!"

The both of them continued to chatter on ever so passionately about the roller coaster ride. As they made their way to the exit, Hodaka felt a tug on his shirt. He looked to see Hina with an adrenaline-fuelled look to her face.

"Wanna go again?"

He chuckled in disbelief. That wasn't what he'd been expecting to hear from her, but he was pleasantly surprised nonetheless. He barely made it out himself, but another time wouldn't hurt..

"You've read my mind.."

* * *

After having another go at the _Thunder Dolphin_, they rode on the Ferris wheel next, enjoying a breathtaking - and a _much _more relaxing - view of Tokyo city.

They sat in their seats in content silence, both of them enjoying each other's company as they took in the view of the cityscape. Hina leaned her head against Hodaka as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer towards him.

Nagi-senpai's words were true. All he really had to do was bring Hina to a place where he would enjoy. If only he'd known this before spending a third of the night cracking his head..

But the date wasn't over just yet.. far from it. There was still one last place he wanted to bring Hina to. It would be the icing on the cake, a spectacular way to end a day of excitement and fun - _if_ everything went according to plan.

But for now, he enjoyed Hina's calming warmth beside him as he rested his head against hers.

"Thanks Hodaka.." he heard her say softly. "Today was really fun."

"It's not over yet Hina," he chuckled with a smile. "There's still one last place I'd like to take you to."

He felt her curl up into him. "Really? I can't wait..," she said with a giggle. "But wherever it is, I know it'll be great.. as long as it's with you."

Hodaka let out a content sigh from his nose. If there really was a God, right now, he wouldn't ask for anything else from him. All he wanted was to be with Hina, just like this, the two of them.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! There's more to come in part 2, so stick around! And don't forget to leave a review, I really appreciate it!**_

_**PS: Yes, I did make them go to Tokyo Dome City since I've been there myself ;)**_

**[REUPLOADED AS OF 11 OCT DUE TO MINOR CHANGES]**


	5. The Date: Part 2

_**Warning! This is a very looong chapter! In fact, I think it's my longest yet. But anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

**The Date: Part 2**

The golden arches, the modern decor, the strong smell of grease clouding the air around her - she couldn't deny it.. a part of her felt like she was home.

"McDonald's.."

Of all the places they could eat at for a first date, and they chose McDonald's.. Albeit, she_ was_ the one who'd suggested it in the first place after a deadlock between the two about where to eat. Perhaps it was just because she felt all too familiar at the place. And maybe she just didn't want to burn a hole through Hodaka's pocket...

She took a glance at the boy, seeing him give her a smile from the table by the window. That sweet little smile of his was always infectious enough to make her lips curve into a dreamy little smile of her own.

She'd insisted on Hodaka sitting down by the table so that they could book a spot in the increasingly cramped fast food restaurant. People were flooding in by the minute, and seats were hot for the taking. Naturally, he opposed the idea, insisting that _he_ should be the one queueing up in the long line while she sat down. But of course, after a little bit of convincing on her part, he eventually backed down and let her take the lead. But he didn't let her go before giving her all the cash that he could muster to buy the food. 'His treat' he reminded her.

Eventually, she'd made it to the cashier after standing in a line that only seemed to be stretching even longer with each passing minute. The uniforms they wore flooded her mind with an intense feeling of nostalgia. Oh, those were the days when she still worked at this exact chain in Shinjuku.. Not that she had the best memories working here, but they were still ones worth remembering nonetheless.. especially one more than any other..

"Welcome to McDonald's! How may I help you?"

That cheery smile they'd always put on.. She knew from first-hand experience that for more times than not, they were.. less than genuine. But it was either that or have the manager scream at your face - and she'd take wearing a smile to ungrateful customers than the latter any day of the week..

"I'd like two Big Macs please."

"Alright, coming right up!" the girl behind the cashier said in the most chipper voice she could muster up.

As swift as ever, a tray of two Big Macs was served. With the tray of Big Macs and drinks in hand, she made her way to the table, maneuvering and inching through the growing lines of people entering the restaurant as best as she could. It was a weekend, yet it felt like it was peak lunch hour..

Eventually, she reached the table. It didn't seem like Hodaka had noticed her yet, judging by the distant look on his face. His eyes seemed to remain religiously fixed towards the sky with his head pressed into the window. She took a glance at the sky, thinking that perhaps something must've changed. But instead, all she saw was the same gloomy sky she'd seen all this time - save for the fact that it didn't look like it was raining just yet. What was Hodaka so entranced about?

"Hodaka," she coughed. It was enough to snap him out of this thoughts, even making him stumble in his seat for a second.

"O-Oh Hina! I didn't see you there.." he hastily apologized as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Wait- how long have you been standing there?"

Hina let out a short chuckle as she shook her head. "Not long." She promptly set the tray down onto the roundtable before plopping herself into her seat. "So, what were you so occupied with?" she asked with a curious little smirk to her lips.

"Oh nothing.. Just.. admiring the view," he replied - and in her opinion, rather unconvincingly - as he gave her an awkward grin.

She sighed before letting out another chuckle from her lips. She'd let the thought slide for awhile, and she had more pressing matters to think about at hand, mainly that of her grumbling stomach. She'd been so occupied getting ready for the date in the morning that she'd forgotten to eat her breakfast. And with hunger being the best condiment, she didn't mind settling for a humble Big Mac. But she made a mental note to ask Hodaka about it later, maybe after she'd filled her stomach.

She curiously took a glance at the boy in front of her, seeing him wear that look of awe that he'd had back then three years ago. His chestnut eyes scanned every inch of that paper box, as if it were some treasure chest holding the key to his deepest desires - and the sight of it only caused her to let out a little giggle from her lips.

"How long has it been since you've eaten a Big Mac?" she asked teasingly as she opened her own Big Mac box.

He seemed to snap out of his trance for a moment as he turned his head up to look at her. He blushed, realising how oddly he'd been staring at that little box. "Well.. I guess it's been _some _time.."

"What, you don't have Big Macs back at home?" she asked before taking a bite of her burger.

"Yea.. I guess you could say that. Heck, there wasn't much of _anything_ back at home. Maybe a Lawson.. but that was it.." Hodaka sighed. "That was kinda one of the reasons I came to Tokyo all those years ago. The island just felt so.. boring."

She realised how little he'd actually told her about his home island. But perhaps maybe one day she'd get him to tell her all about it..

"Well, you aren't missing out on anything spectacular from a McDonald's, that's for sure," she chuckled.

The boy in front of her wasted no time in opening the box, revealing a picturesque-looking burger; the sauce oozing through the layers, pickles and lettuce sticking out from the sides, the two patties sandwiched between three layers of buns - it looked oh so scrumptious. His eyes glistened like he'd just opened Pandora's box.

He lifted the ginormous burger up to his lips, savouring its scent and aroma. Well.. he couldn't deny that it did indeed smell just like a normal burger.. But he wondered if he would experience the same wonder he'd felt the first time he tasted it. He didn't wait any longer to find out, taking a big bite of the burger nestled in his hands. Yup, it tasted just like last time..

"Mmm~" he moaned in delight as he savoured every flavour bombarding his taste buds.

Hina continued to giggle between the bites and chews of her own Big Mac. How could a simple fast food burger from McDonald's taste so mind-blowing to Hodaka? That was truly one of the great mysteries of her life.

"Does it really taste that good?" she asked, still perplexed by the whole thing. She took another bite of her burger, hoping that maybe it'd give her the same ecstatic sensation Hodaka was experiencing.

Hodaka paused his hasty biting and chewing of the burger as he let out a little chuckle from his stuffed lips. He took a gulp of the food before clearing his throat with a sip of soda.

"Do you remember when you gave me that Big Mac back then?"

She unknowingly let out a deep sigh as she reminisced on that specific memory. "How could I ever forget?"

"And did I ever tell you how I felt when I took a bite of that Big Mac?"

"No, I don't think you have," she replied with an amused smile to her lips.

"Well.. I thought that it was the best thing I'd ever eaten in my entire life." He sounded almost serious saying that.

But Hina couldn't help herself from bursting into little giggles. "You can't be serious, right?"

"I am! And..," his voice softened as he continued "..it was the first time someone had actually shown me some kindness ever since I arrived in Tokyo, so there's that."

She felt a familiar and relieving warmth enveloping her hand, and in turn, she intertwined her fingers tightly with his. Her lips had naturally curved into a warm smile.

"Thank you.. It was the kindest thing someone's done for me in a long time," Hodaka replied once their eyes met. She could feel him tightening their interlaced fingers together.

"Don't mention it.." she smiled sweetly. "I was hoping you liked that burger. I lost my job here because of it y'know."

Hodaka's dreamy face had disappeared so quickly, and luckily he hadn't spat out the piece of hamburger in his mouth. "W-What?! W-wait - you told me that-"

Hina's uncontrollable giggles was a sure sign for him to know that he'd been fooled. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! It wasn't because of _that_!" she tried to say between her fits of laughter, "It was probably because I lied about my age.."

His tense body had relaxed considerably once he heard her say that. Sure, he looked like a gullible idiot for falling for her tricks, but if it meant seeing her laugh, then he didn't care how many times he'd have to be fooled..

After they finished their meal, they made their way to their final destination, of which Hodaka hadn't disclosed of yet. She could only guess where he was intending to take her to. But the entire time on their walk through the open streets, she noticed him staring back at the gloomy skies again. It was about to rain for the first time today, that much was expected judging by the looming clouds above them. It hadn't rained just yet, but she was sure the downpour would be massive once it did.. It was only a matter of when.

"Hodaka, whatcha starin' at?" she asked as she looped her arm around Hodaka's.

His intense gaze towards the sky softened once he turned to look at her. "Oh.. it's nothing. I was just looking at the weather.."

She cocked her eyebrows in curiosity. "The weather? What's so interesting about it?"

"Nothing in particular.. I just.. I don't know.." he sighed in noticeable frustration. There was something he wasn't telling her, as if he was afraid to let it out of his mouth.

"Hodaka?" she calls as she pulls herself closer to him.

Her blue eyes peering deeply into his were enough to make him cave in. "I was just hoping that today.. the rain would stop just for a little while longer. Just for today."

"_Just _for today?" She seemed a little confused. If she'd had it her way - and if she still had her powers from before - she would've prayed the rain away forever. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, and she shuddered to think what would happen if she managed to do it again..

"You'll see.." was all he said in return.

He didn't say anything else about the topic after that, and Hina decided she wouldn't pry any further. She'd just let Hodaka show her the answer to her lingering question.

The journey from Shinjuku to whatever place they were headed to seemed almost endless. They hopped from train to train and from ferry to ferry. Wherever it was he was taking them to, it was definitely far. And throughout the entire time, she'd caught Hodaka glancing up at the sky more times than she could bother to count. But even through the smile he'd give her whenever their eyes met after that, she could tell the hints of worry to his face.

By then, the evening Sun was starting to set in, with the clouds in the sky slowly adopting an orange hue. But now, after tens of minutes of walking and hopping ferries and trains, she finally had a glimpse of where Hodaka was taking her to. The street signs all around her were a clear giveaway...

"Asakusa?"

Hodaka nodded with an expectant smile, as if he'd been eagerly waiting all this time for Hina to finally catch up to what his plan was. "Yup.. here we are."

The crowds of people starting to flood the way, the food stalls and banners lining almost every corner of the streets, the yukatas; this was a festival. But it wasn't just any festival.. "The fireworks festival..," she mumbled to herself before turning her attention towards Hodaka, "Wait, is today the fireworks festival?"

"Mhmm," the boy hummed in confirmation as his smile grew even wider. "I read online that they were gonna be having it this year. Something about the weather being good this time around or.. something like that.."

The Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival.. With half of Tokyo underwater, it was a miracle that the city was still able to hold a few fireworks festivals. Even though the Sumida River in Asakusa had long since overflowed its banks, it didn't seem like that was going to stop people from lighting up their beloved fireworks and carrying on their centuries-old tradition.

Everybody around them seemed livelier than usual, and no doubt they did. It had been a few years since the last fireworks show had been held, and every cancellation was caused by the hands of the seemingly eternal bad weather. But not this time around!

"Woah.. it's been so long since I've been to something like this.." Hina's eyes were practically sparkling at the spectacle. It was a shame she didn't wear a yukata to suit the mood..

But then, it finally struck her. "Wait, so is this why you wanted the rain to stop a little longer?"

"Yea.. I didn't want the rain to ruin something special like this for us.. for you.."

Before Hina could say anything else, Hodaka's somber voice had quickly adopted a jovial tone. "But looking at the weather now, it doesn't seem like it'll rain. So I guess that makes this my first time going to a fireworks festival in like.. forever," he chuckled.

"Wha- you're telling me you've never been to a fireworks festival before?"

Hodaka shrugged as he subconsciously rubbed the back of his neck. "Well I mean, back home there were the occasional fireworks 'festivals', but nothing as grand as this one."

She took both of his hands into hers. "Then c'mon! You have no idea what you've been missing out on!"

Hodaka barely had any time to catch his breath before Hina was tugging him along through the crowds of people, squeezing her way between them until they finally reached the lines and lines of food stalls that seemed to stretch out into the far distance.

They both let out gasps of awe in perfect unison as they were bedazzled by the sight of the variety of food stalls surrounding them. Okonomiyaki, yakitori, candied apple - they had it all! And they sure did work up an appetite from walking for so long!

"Oo~ Let's go try out the takoyaki!"

Before he knew it, he was already being tugged towards a takoyaki stall. The aroma coming off was already enough to send his mouth salivating like a waterfall.

"We'll have some takoyaki please!" Hina requested excitedly.

The stallperson was already working like clockwork, using a stick to plop up a few freshly cooked takoyaki from the mould and placing it into a polystyrene tray. As a final touch, he sprinkled a generous amount of dried bonito and squirted some mayonnaise.

"Here you go! That'll be 300 yen."

The two of them made their way to a less crowded part of the festival area where they could enjoy their freshly made takoyaki in peace. It wasn't long before they readied their chopsticks, hungrily awaiting to dig in.

Hodaka's mouth was watering like a burst dam by this point. "Sugoii! This looks amazing!"

He lifted the takoyaki up to his lips. He plopped the entire thing into his mouth, impatiently gobbling it up to taste the release of flavours pouring out of the ball. But of course, in his haste to savour the wonderful flavours, he'd forgotten one thing..

"Aaah! Hot! Hot!"

He juggled the piping hot pieces of takoyaki inside his mouth like a hot cake, with his tongue dancing all around as he tried to avoid the scorching hot takoyaki filling. His eyes were even starting to water from the sheer pain of the heat on his tongue.

It didn't feel right, seeing him in pain like that, but Hina couldn't stop giggling at Hodaka who by this point was dancing around as he tried to use his one free hand to fan away the burn on his tongue.

"This- This isn't funny!" he tried to say through the pain in his mouth, but it came out more garbled than he'd thought.

She tried her best to stifle the giggles bursting through her lips. She was starting to feel a little sorry for even giggling in the first place, and so she quickly thought up of an idea to soothe Hodaka's burning tongue.

"Hold on, I'll go get you something!"

Hodaka watched as she disappeared into the crowd, and he was left gasping in sharp breaths of air to cool down the charred remains of his tongue.

Soon enough, Hina had appeared back from the sea of people, and this time with a bowl of what appeared to be shaved ice in her hands. Sloshes of syrup of all varying colours painted the mountain of ice.

He couldn't wait any longer to taste the soothing coolness of the ice as he opened his mouth, panting like an excited puppy eagerly awaiting its treat.

"Seriously?" Hina giggled. But she obliged anyway, scooping up a generous amount of the rainbow-coloured ice with the spoon in her hands. She wasted no time in guiding it into Hodaka's mouth, and it took a mere second for him to gobble every lick of ice off of it.

_'Just like a little puppy,' _she giggled in her mind.

"Mmm~"

His shoulders relaxed considerably and his pained expression had disappeared in a split second. But of course, with the burn gone, he could finally feel - or rather not at all - the numbness in his tongue.

"_F'ank 'ou.." _he mumbled through the chews of shaved ice in his mouth.

But he didn't expect to feel something else that'd managed to soothe the burning sensation; a fleeting pair of lips gently kissing his cheek. He heard her giggles beside her as he felt the tray in his hands being removed from his hold.

He turned to see Hina had already switched her bowl of shaved ice with the tray of takoyaki in his hands. This time though, as she brought the ball of the octopus-filled treat to her lips, she gently blew on its surface. He probably should've done that earlier..

She plopped it into her mouth, and her eyes lit up at the flavour bomb she was tasting. "This is good!"

"I'm glad you like it. Too bad I won't be able to taste it now that my tongue's burnt though.."

"You should've waited for it to cool down first, silly," she giggled.

"Yea yea.." he sighed with an abashed smile. "But at least I can enjoy this shaved ice."

"Hey, lemme try some."

She opened her mouth, motioning Hodaka to scoop up some of that cold goodness and feed it to her. He did just that, and soon she was bubbling up just like she did when she first tasted the takoyaki.

"Mmmm~!"

In turn, she picked up a piece of takoyaki with her chopsticks and shoved it in front of Hodaka's face.

"Uhh.. Hina?"

"It's cooled down now. I'm sure it won't burn your tongue again," she said with a wink before blowing onto the ball of takoyaki for good measure.

Hodaka still felt a little apprehensive..

"My tongue's burnt though.. I don't even know if I'll be able to taste it anyway."

"I'm sure it isn't _that_ bad. C'mon, you won't know til' you try."

With Hina already shoving it into his face, he might as well give it a go. He opened his mouth, allowing Hina to plop it right onto his tongue, and surprisingly, he could taste it! Although, if he didn't have a burnt tongue, it would've tasted a million times better. But it was certainly something!

"Not bad right? At least not when it's piping hot."

"Mhmm," he hummed with his mouth full of takoyaki, "..you do have a point."

After they'd had their fill of takoyaki and shaved ice, they scoured the festival for more food to dig in to. With each mouth-watering piece of food they bought, Hodaka could feel his wallet wriggling in pain. He was sure his money would dry up soon, but heck, it was worth it if it meant having some of the best food he'd tasted in a long time. With all the fun he was having, he'd forgotten all his worries about the uncertainty of the weather..

With their stomachs filled to the brim, now, it was time to find a place to sit and relax.

"This looks like a good spot!," he heard Hina call out to him as she motioned towards a surprisingly empty area by the riverside.

He looked around, and to his utter amazement, there wasn't a single soul in sight, save for the ones at the festival in the far distance. "I'm surprised there's no one around."

"Let's hope it stays that way once the fireworks start," he heard Hina say.

Conveniently, a small bench facing the riverside was perched right where they stood. With all the food they'd just eaten starting to slug them down, they decided to sit down and relax.

They curled up into each other, staying in content and peaceful silence as they watched the Sun disappear into the orange and partly grey horizon.

"Today just gets better and better.." Hina sighed as she rested her head on Hodaka's shoulder.

Hodaka chuckled, "And it's not over yet. We still have the fireworks to see."

Hina's heart fluttered just thinking about the spectacular display awaiting them. But even without the show, everything that had happened throughout the day was still nothing short of amazing. From the rollercoasters to the festival - and of course, the McDonalds.. - she felt like she was having the time of her life.

"Thank you.. Hodaka. For everything."

"You don't have to thank me. It was my treat, remember?" She felt rather than saw his lips curve into a smile.

"Yeah.. you say that. But treating me out to an entire day of fun _just_ for running away? That's pretty extra, even for me," she giggled.

Even if she couldn't see it, she definitely knew that he was blushing like a red tomato. He stumbled through his words at first. "W-Well, it was the natural thing to do. I felt bad for running off like that and then avoiding you for a few days. And.." he let out a little chuckle as he thought about it, "..maybe I just needed an excuse to take you out on a date."

"Well, looks like your mission is accomplished," she laughed.

Hodaka couldn't help but laugh with her, but in his case, it was in relief. "I'm glad you think that way." He sighed, "But.. I'll be honest, I was kinda nervous before this."

"Nervous?"

"Yea.. I didn't really know where to take you to. I stayed up almost all night just thinking about it," he admitted as he let out another sigh. "But then.. I got a little advice from a friend."

"A friend?" she asked with curiosity building in her voice. "Lemme guess, was it Nagi?"

He chuckled at how quickly she'd caught on. "Spot on."

"Well c'mon, tell me what 'advice' my little brother gave you," she insisted playfully as she gave Hodaka a light jab on the side.

He let out a short laugh in response. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you," he chuckled. "He told me.. that you weren't an ordinary girl. And-"

His train of thought had been derailed for a moment when he heard a little giggle beside him. He turned to see Hina with a cute little smirk to her lips. "Well, I guess he's _kinda_ right. I don't think I know any other girls that can - I mean, _could -_ pray the weather away," she said with a wink.

Hodaka couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure he wasn't referring to _that_ when he told me this.."

"A-Anyway..," He quickly set aside the laughter, focusing back to the explanation at hand. "He told me that.. you didn't care if you were taken out to the fanciest restaurants or the cheapest ramen shops.. You didn't care where it was. He told me that.. all you ever really wanted was to spend time with those you love."

Hina's lips curved into a small smile as she curled deeper into Hodaka. "Well.. Nagi isn't exactly _wrong_.."

"And.. he also told me that he hasn't seen you this happy since.. since..." He didn't know if he should say it. He didn't want to bring up any hurtful memories inside her. But he didn't need to say anything else, not after hearing her say what he'd been holding back;

"Since my mom died?"

He was taken aback at her answer. How did she-

"I overheard you guys talking while I was making my way out.." she whispered softly as her blue-cerulean eyes seemed to turn away from him. Her upbeat aura almost seemed to dissipate within seconds.

His heart took a plummet, worried that he'd just struck a nerve deep inside her heart. He knew how much the topic affected her... Dammit, he shouldn't have-

His chaos of thoughts were interrupted by.. warmth. Familiar, calming warmth. He didn't know when, but he soon found himself wrapped in a tight hug between Hina's arms. It took a few seconds for him to process the entire thing, but it took him zero to bundle the love of his life in his own arms.

He heard her say softly into his ear, "It's true, you know.. For all those months after mom died.. I.. I was never really happy. But I didn't _care _about being happy. All I cared about was making sure Nagi was well off. As long as Nagi was okay, then _I _was okay. That was what I believed anyway.. But then..," he could almost feel the smile beginning to form on her lips,"..I met you."

He didn't know what else to say really. To hear the words from Hina herself - suffice to say, he was sure his heart had already melted into a pile of goo in his chest.

He sighed, burying his face into the crook of her neck, feeling her twintails tickling the tip of his nose. "And _I_ met _you_.."

The pair of arms surrounding his body squeezed just a little tighter. "I'm so glad I met you.. Hodaka."

They stayed in their embrace for what felt like an eternity, relaxing in the content silence enveloping them, coupled with the peaceful sounds of the cityside around them. When was the last time they'd hugged like this, just the two of them basking in each other's calming warmth? They could stay like that for all of time for all they cared..

But then, a loud sound - one that he'd been dreading to hear all this time - roared through the air with the most ferocity he'd ever heard, loud enough to shock them both out of their embrace.

_Baduum~!_

A flash of light streaked across the sky, followed again by the deafening blast of God's heavenly drums.

Thunder… and where there's thunder, there's..

"Rain.."

Hodaka looked up towards the sky, seeing the clouds from above releasing all the rain that they'd been holding onto for a day. Within seconds, the once calm and serene scenery had turned into a rainstorm, with gusts of winds blowing past them and sending shivers down their spines.

But he didn't care about any of that.. Not anymore..

They heard the screeching of the loudspeakers in the festival venue, before a voice emanated and echoed from it.

"We are sorry to announce that the Sumidagawa fireworks show has been cancelled due to the onset of a thunderstorm. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Thank you."

He didn't care that he was soaking wet. He just couldn't believe it. It.. it rained. And the weather reports from the morning had said that there was close to a nill chance for rain that day..

_CANCELLED._

That word rang in his ear like an annoying case of tinnitus, mocking him, insulting him for even thinking that the world might've gone the way he'd wanted it to.

He stood up from the bench, walking over towards the metal fence separating the sidewalk from the river. He stared up at the sky, questioning himself - questioning God - and why he had let this happen. Why did life want to ruin something so special, something meant for Hina?!

"No.. No.. No.." He didn't know if it was the raindrops or the tears streaming down his cheeks. But as the rain streamed down his body, so did any optimism he had left inside him. It was ruined.. everything was ruined..

"Hodaka!"

He lifted his head up weakly, unable to look her in the eyes. But what he'd thought would be a look of disappointment in her eyes had instead been one of fiery determination. Before he knew it, she'd walked the distance between them and taken his hands into hers.

"Hodaka-"

"Hina.. I'm sorry.." he sighed in solemn defeat. "I should've known that it would rain and that the fireworks would be cancelled and-."

"Hodaka-"

"I'm sorry.."

"Hodaka!"

Her sudden shout had snapped him out of his miserable droning. Even more, he felt the calming warmth of her hands, having moved away from his own hands and instead upwards towards his cheek, cradling his face.

"Look at me," she said almost sternly. He did just that, as much as he reluctantly did through the misery and sadness aching his heart, and soon, his chestnut eyes were peering into her blue, fiery ones.

"H-Hina?"

"Pray with me."

She brought his forehead to touch against hers, and now, her fiery eyes were peering deeper into Hodaka's. "Pray with me. Pray with me to stop the rain."

Pray. She'd done it so many times before, after that day when she'd fallen from the sky. She had clasped her hands for almost a thousand times, praying to the gods above to rid the sky of the rainy clouds and the depressing weather. And each time, her prayers were left unanswered.

But for one time, she prayed to the gods in one final last ditch attempt. But at that time, she did not pray for the rain to stop. No, she prayed for something else, something that her heart had been yearning for more than anything else in the world.

"Hodaka, do you remember when we first met a few days ago?"

His eyes bore a look of confusion, unsure of what Hina was trying to get him to see. "Yea.. I remember."

"Before you called me, I was praying. Do you remember that?"

"I remember.."

The memory broke through the floodgates of his mind. He remembered when he walked over on that pathway, the place where he'd first seen the effects of Hina's prayers on her all those years ago. He remembered seeing her, standing on the top of that hill with her hoodie covering her face, clasping her hands.. praying.

"What were you praying for?"

This time, her face inched closer to his, and he could feel her soft breaths tickling the tip of his nose and the skin on his cheeks.

"I was praying.. for _you._"

"Praying for me? But why?"

"That day, I was praying to the gods so that I could see your face again, see your smile again.. feel your warmth again." Her voice had gotten soft, and the raindrops streaming down her face worked well to mask the tears welling up in her eyes. "Hodaka, all I've ever wanted for these past three years was to be with _you_ again. And now, after years and years of praying, the gods have finally answered me."

"Hina.."

Her hands clasped around his ever so tightly, pulling him closer to her until their unified and intertwined fingers were now squeezing between their chests. "So pray with me, Hodaka. Pray with me.."

He saw her eyes fluttering to a close, as she seemed to focus all her energy into her prayers. It was almost like he could feel the energy radiating from her, especially with how close they were together. He followed suit, closing his eyes as well.

Morishima Hodaka had never been a religious one. But this time, just like in the hotel room that fateful night when he'd been having the time of his life with Nagi and Hina, he prayed. He prayed, clasping his hands that were already tightly knit with Hina's, pouring all the energy and determination that he had within his soul into his prayers to the powers above.

As the rain continued to pour down onto them, they prayed. The cold didn't bother them, not with each other's warmth enveloping them. He prayed and prayed, clenching his eyes and his hands tighter, waiting for the rain to suddenly stop like it always did back when Hina prayed. But.. it didn't. Life never did work out the way either of them wanted it to..

Eventually, he opened his eyes, and he found himself staring back at a pair of blue ones. Her eyes glistened in the showers of rain, and a loving smile that sent his heart melting graced her lips. It seemed that she too had stopped praying. But there wasn't even a hint of disappointment to her facial features..

He wanted to feel disappointed - he _should_ have felt disappointed - but he didn't. Peering back at Hina's gorgeous blue-cerulean eyes, it was at that moment he realised that, maybe.. he'd been thinking about all of this the wrong way. An epiphany finally dawned on him; the highlight of the night wasn't the fireworks.. no.. it was _this_. It was being close to Hina, praying with her, hearing her pour her heart out to him - and now.. he finally understood what Nagi had meant. No matter where they were or what they were doing, as long as they were together, _they'd _be happy.

"Hodaka.."

"Hina.."

Time had stopped for a moment. Everything around them - from the thunder in the sky to the rain crashing down to the Earth - had fallen silent. For a moment, something deep inside them clicked, as if the threads of their hearts were starting to link again.

Her face was gravitating closer towards Hodaka's. And soon, the agonizing inches separating their faces had been bridged. When she felt his rough yet soft lips gracing her own.. she cried. Like a dam had been burst deep inside her, the tears welling up in her eyes were beginning to flow down freely. Unlike the first time they'd kissed, this.. this felt.. _different. _She could almost tangibly feel the very fabric of her soul intertwining with his, her heart forever binding and uniting into an eternal connection with that of the love of her life.

He felt his own lukewarm tears streaming down his cheeks as well. This kiss was different from the one he'd shared with her that night. The first had been out of impatience and yearning, but this.. this was the culmination of everything that'd been building up inside of him for the past few days. This was love in its purest form, and it was as overwhelming and powerful as he felt it when they fell from the sky, holding each other in their arms all those years ago..

He was the first to act, placing his arms around her back and pulling her close, pressing their faces deeper together. Her hands followed suit, moving up to cradle Hodaka's face in her hands. She ran her fingers through his hair, gently pulling him closer to further deepen the kiss.

As they separated but for a moment to catch their breaths, all they could do was lose themselves in each other's eyes; his chestnut ones peering lovingly into her blue ones, as if it had been literal ages since they'd seen each other. And that's when he finally said it.

"I love you."

Those three special words.

As the roaring of the thunder intensified, and as the rain continued to pour down heavily, he shouted with all his energy, "I never got to say this before, but-"

He didn't even have the opportunity to say it, with his lips being locked into another kiss. His heart was feeling all kinds of things, and it took all of his willpower to hold it together, stopping himself from melting away. As they released their lips once more, she finally gave him her reply.

"I love you too.."

Her tears streamed down her face, warming the coldness of her cheeks from the raindrops. But they were warmed even more when she felt Hodaka's gentle hands on them, cradling her face ever so gently.

They share one more kiss before letting themselves say the words that were aching to be released from their lips.

"Hina, I love you! I love you more than-"

"-any blue sky." She lets out a small giggle as the tears continue to run down her cheeks. "I still remember what you said to me back then. I'll never forget it," she says as she nestles her head in his warm hands.

He leans in closer, until their lips were millimeters apart again. "I promise that I'll always be with you - no matter what! I want to be with you for as long as I live! A-And as long as we're together.. I know…" His eyes burned with a fiery conviction that could very well bring down mountains, "..I know that we'll be alright."

She leans in closer as she sniffles back a tear. "As long as we're together…"

As they connect lips again, it was like the gods themselves had been watching over them the entire time. The roaring thunder in the sky had died, and the rain ceased to fall from the darkness above. Whether it was pure coincidence or divine intervention, they would never know.

They were too lost in their kisses to hear the loudspeakers coming back to life. "Attention! We are pleased to announce that due to the sudden changes in weather, the Sumidagawa fireworks show will carry on according to plan. We would like to apologize again for any inconvenience caused by these turn of events."

And just after that, the fireworks flew off into the sky, painting the darkness in a cacophony of colours. But they couldn't care to notice any of it.. All they cared about was staying as they were; embracing each other as they shared a long, loving kiss.

They separate lips once more, breathing in gasps of air accrued from their passionate kisses. They touch their foreheads together, smiling and giggling as the tears continue to stream down their faces, with the rainbow of colours in the night sky sparkling in their pupils.

"I love you, Hodaka," she says as her hand runs across his cheek and deepens itself into the strands of his hair.

He pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her as her familiar scent soothes his racing heart. "I love you too."

**THE END**

* * *

_**The end? Is that it? Well, I guess the answer is.. I'm not sure. This is the end for the continuous story that I've planned, but maybe in the very near future I'll be uploading some oneshots of their lives (Nagi, Natsumi and Suga included) after the events of this chapter. But for now, this is all I have.**_

_**But I digress. It's been such a blast writing this fanfic, and I owe a large part of that to the continued support that you guys have given me. Seriously, you guys are the best.**_

_**But again, this isn't necessarily the end. I still have a load of oneshots that I intend to write about these two, and so, stay tuned. There'll be more to come in the future. As for now, sayonara :)**_


	6. A Sincere Update

It's been ages since I've last posted an entry into this fic of mine, but seeing as how the Western audience is coming in droves into the fandom, I think it's high time I gave you guys (especially those who've followed the story) an update. As the description of the fic says.. I won't be updating this fic any longer. All that talk of one shots about Nagi, Suga, Natsumi and the rest fell through, and life just kinda made me lose the time and passion I needed to continue. Initially, to those who still remember, there was actually a sixth chapter that ended with a cliff hanger, but I quickly deleted that since I knew I couldn't continue it, and now the fic is at it is. But still, I'm eternally grateful to all of you who've just now started to favourite and follow this story, it means a lot to me. And as a consolation, I might upload that sixth chapter, if you guys want. That's... all from me. Thank you, really, to all of you who've supported this fic. But this is **the end**.. and with that, all I have to say is-

**Sayonara.**


	7. Under the Weather (Part 1) REUPLOADED

**So this is that sixth chapter that I was talking about. Hope you enjoy it for what it is. **

* * *

**Every Morning**

"Nee-chan! I'll be going off first!"

"Alright, just be safe okay!"

"Okay!"

He gave her the usual thumbs up, and soon, the middle-schooler was already out of the door. He always did seem to be in a rush. And she guessed that it was to meet up with one of his girlfriends. What was her name? Ah, it was getting hard to keep track..

After she took one last glance towards the expanse of her apartment, making sure everything was spick and span, she made her way out the door with her schoolbag and umbrella in hand. She hurriedly fished the keys out of her pocket - albeit a little clumsily, what with her two hands already occupied - and locked the door.

Once she made her way down the stairwell, she raised her umbrella towards the sky, and with a simple click of a button, it burst open. And now, she began her journey to the one place she loathed the most - high school.

The pitter-patter of rain on her umbrella was therapeutic to her, and as she made her way down the streets towards the bus stop, she hummed to herself in quiet content. The past few days had been.. eventful, to say the least. The events from the weekend were still very much fresh in her mind, and a part of her still couldn't believe that it all actually _happened._

A stray blush formed on her cheeks just thinking about the whole thing. The entire thing was still vivid. After they'd arrived back to her house from their night out in the festival, Nagi was almost close to throwing a hissy fit seeing her clothes soaked and wet from the rain.

'You could catch a cold, Nee-chan!' was what he lectured to the both of them. She could still picture the flushed look on Hodaka's face. But it was a good thing she was there to cool things down…

After a few minutes of lugging her feet reluctantly through the streets, she could finally see the bus stop in the far distance. Just a little more, and then she'd be able to catch a nap in the bus before she reached her school.

She continued on, but then she heard something coming from the distance. And if her ears were right, it was coming from behind her. It was muffled and faint, but it quickly became louder with each passing second. That sound.. she could almost make it out. It was someone calling out her name!

She gave in to her curiosity and turned around, seeing a figure approaching towards her direction from the far end of the street she'd been walking on. She squinted her eyes a little to get a better picture of the person coming her way. And once she did, it didn't take long for her to find out who it was.

"Hina! Hina!"

He was waving his hand in the air that seemed to be carrying a bag of sorts, running towards her with his blue windbreaker and umbrella flapping about in the wind. Once he'd gotten closer to her, she noticed him very obviously panting like an exhausted puppy.

"Hodaka? What are you doing here?"

"I.." He took in a big breath of air before leaning downwards and resting his body on his knees, "I brought you some food from the convenience store. I went to your apartment, but you weren't there." His out-of-breath face took in another big pant of air before continuing, "So I figured you must've already been on your way to school.. and I found you here."

He let out a deep sigh before taking another big breath of fresh air. He lifted the plastic bag of food up to Hina's face as he tried his best to muster up a smile from his exhausted and flushed face. The years spent on that island had really drained his stamina..

"Aww, you shouldn't have..," she cooed as she took the bag from his hands. She took a peak and found a few onigiris and little sandwich cakes, the likes that they could only find in a Lawson or Family Mart.

"Wait, is this all for me?"

Hodaka stretched his arms and straightened his back as his lips curved into an awkward smile. "Yea.. kinda."

"I won't be able to eat _all _of this," she chuckled as she shook her head. "I hope you don't mind helping me out."

"Well, I _did _buy them.."

And just in time, she heard the roaring engine of the bus down the road.

"And I hope you don't mind accompanying me to school," she winked with a cute little smile.

An excited little laugh the confines of his big smile, "Of course not. I don't have much to do anyway."

They walked along into the bus under the shelter of Hodaka's umbrella, with their hands instinctively intertwining as usual while they did. The bus was empty, thankfully, and they sat at the double seats by the window.

Hina fished out an onigiri from the bag and unwrapped its plastic wrapping before taking a bite.

"Mm, not bad."

She lifted the half-eaten piece of the triangular-shaped rice ball up to Hodaka's face, gesturing him to take a bite. He happily did so, and let out a little satisfied moan.

They talked for awhile after, but soon, Hodaka realised that his responses were falling on deaf - well, more like sleepy - ears. He felt a weight pressing onto his shoulder, and he didn't need to guess who it was.

He watched her dozing off peacefully, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he snuggled her up closer. He felt his eyes getting just a little heavier by the moment and-

"Hodaka, wake up!" He felt her hands nudging him and soon, her face was right in front of his. "We're here."

He stumbled upwards, still a little bit doozy from his sudden awakening. How - when did he even-

He didn't have much time to think now that he was being tugged out of the bus. He took a good look around him, a little bit startled to see the bus filled to the max with people. How long had he been asleep?

As he stepped out of the bus, he continued to be tugged along until they finally reached their destination; the high school. The sight of it suddenly flipped a switch inside of him. The students roaming around, the uniforms - it was all making him remember his time back at the island. He shuddered to remember anymore of that time in his life..

"Well, I'll be going now," he heard Hina chime in. "Thanks for the food, and for accompanying me," she giggled.

"No problem. I guess I'll see you after school then?"

"Sure, just come by my apartment whenever you want," she winked.

She stepped closer to him, taking a few glances around her as she did so. Hodaka felt his eyebrows cocking into a slight look of confusion as she watched his girlfriend's suspicious glances towards the surroundings.

But one thing led to another, and before he knew it, Hina had taken him by the collar of his windbreaker and pulled him down for a short kiss on the lips. Too short, if he was being honest with himself.

"I'll see you later," she said as she parted her lips away from the fleeting kiss, leaving his lips aching in agony for more.

"Y-Yea," he stuttered with a little stunned look in his chestnut eyes. "I will.."

And just like that, she disappeared into the crowd of students, leaving him alone to stand there with stars in his eyes. He could never get used to that sensation..

"_My my my_. Very lovey-dovey today now aren't you, Morishima-kun?"

He could feel that starstruck look on his face sliding away as soon as he heard that all too familiar voice. He didn't dare to turn around and see who it was, but he gave in to the nagging curiosity inside him anyway and did just that.

"N-Natsumi-san?!"

His eyes darted all over the petite woman leaning her body against the handles of her iconic pink-white scooter. Her lips were wearing a very obvious sly smile, and those eyes of hers were harboring a cheeky deviousness within them.

His face was already a deep shade of red from the kiss just now, and the fact that _she _was there in front of him didn't help matters at all.

"H-How long have you been sitting there?!"

"Oh, not that long. But just enough to catch you smooching over there with Hina-chan," she giggled teasingly.

Would the teasing ever stop? His heart could only take so much before he'd collapse there and then, and any more and his face would look like the skin of a ripe tomato.

"I.. I.."

"It's been so long since I've last seen you Hodaka, and the first thing I see you do is making out with Hina-chan!" she laughed as that sly smile on her face grew wider, "I can't believe it!"

Hodaka let out an audible sigh, letting his cheeks flush like the surface of Mars as he beared with the teasing. "It's good to see you too, Natsumi-san."

_"My my my,_ you've really grown, Hodaka. And from what I saw just now, you were a full head taller than Hina-chan," Natsumi chuckled as she rested her chin on her hands. "How old are you anyway? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

"Nineteen.." he replied as he stepped closer to the scooter.

"I heard you two went out on a date recently."

"Wha- H-How did you know? Did Nagi-senpai tell you that?" he questioned as he stepped back in surprise.

He hadn't expected her to burst out into a fit of laughter. "Of course not! It was Hina-chan! Who else do you think told me about it?"

"Wait.. Hina told you about the date?" He eyed the raven-haired lady in front of him with suspicious eyes.

"_Yare yare.._ _I _was the one who gave her the idea in the first place!" she said amidst her boisterous laughter. "But from what I've heard from her, it sure was _some _date!"

'Natsumi was the one who gave her the idea?' he wondered to himself. But more importantly, "How much did she tell you..?" he asked.

"Oh, just enough to know that it was _pretty_ _good._" That devious smirk on her face had quickly given way to a little pout as she let out a dreary sigh. "Aah.. Hina-chan's so lucky to have someone like you. I wish _I_ had a boyfriend to take me out on a date!" she sighed as she clasped her hands to the sky, praying to the Gods above to grace her with a soulmate.

Of course, she wasn't being _totally _serious, what with the playful tone she had in her voice. But a part of her still felt the painful truth behind her words..

"I'm sure you'll find someone eventually, Natsumi-san," Hodaka said with a pang of sympathy to his voice.

"I hope so," she sighed. "Anyway, do you have anywhere you want to go? I've got some time to kill before I need to clock in to work," she offered with her usual upbeat tone as she straightened up from the handle of her scooter and stretched her slender arms.

"Mmm.. now that I think about it..," he hummed in thought, "..there's one place I need to go to - if you don't mind."

"Great!" She beamed as she clapped her hands together in delight. "This'll be a good time for me to catch up with Hina-chan's new _boyfriend_." Her heavy emphasis on that particular word wasn't lost on his ears.

She patted the seat of her little scooter. "Hop on!"

Hodaka let out a sigh, realising what he was getting himself into. He guessed it was better to catch a free ride with Natsumi-san and bear her teasing and questions than go through public transport. He sat himself snugly on the back of her scooter, placing his hands on the sides as he gripped on for dear life once he remembered the crazy ride he had the last time he was on this thing.

"Hey, you've graduated right? How was going back to high school like?" he heard Natsumi ask as he saw her putting on her helmet.

He could feel a sigh escaping his nostrils. This was gonna be one _looong _ride..

* * *

The next day, Hina found herself a little surprised to find the very person she'd been hoping to see right at her front door. And just like yesterday, he had a bag of snacks from Family Mart in his hand.

He'd learnt his lesson from yesterday and came much earlier to greet Hina at her apartment, saving him from the sprint he'd have to endure if he were a few minutes late. They walked to the bus stop with linked arms under their shared umbrella, and just like yesterday, he accompanied her to her high school to drop her off.

Each day, she'd find him waiting out there at her front door like a puppy longing for its owner. And each day, they chatted and strolled to the bus stop while snacking on whatever tidbits and snacks Hodaka could get his hands on before making the trip to her school.

And sometimes - well, most of the time - they found Natsumi tagging along with them. And as expected, she'd throw around the occasional tease that would send both of their faces blushing like ripe tomatoes.

This had become a tradition of sorts between them, and each school morning, she could expect to see a very familiar face waiting for her just outside her apartment. And each morning, she'd start the day off seeing his happy, loving smile. It seemed like a small gesture, accompanying her to high school every morning. But whether or not he knew, something like this meant the world to her..

_Beep Beep Beep Beep~_

She opened her heavy eyelids, wiping off the sticky gunk that had formed on them during her deep sleep while another hand pressed the alarm clock by her bedside to a stop.

Mornings.. she dreaded them. But at least she had something to look forward to; him. She rose up from her bed, going into the bathroom and getting the usual things out of the way; brushing her teeth, taking a bath and putting on her uniform. As usual, she sleepily greeted her little brother and ate a quick breakfast with him. And right after that, he was off, and she was off as well.

But something was off today. And it was immediately obvious from the start. She stared out at the corridor stretching out from her front door.

He wasn't there.

Perhaps he was just late, was what she thought. And so she waited a few minutes, letting time tick by ever so agonizingly. And yet, he still hadn't appeared.

_'Hmm.. odd.'_

But she didn't have the luxury of waiting for him all morning, and so she began to make her way down the stairs and towards the bus stop. She'd hoped to see him by the side of the street, yet he wasn't there either.

'I bet he's still sleeping,' she chuckled to herself. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if he did.

She took a glance at her phone, seeing the time displayed on her screen. If he was asleep, then the least she could do was repay the favour. She had enough time anyway.

The twintail-haired girl made a detour, and instead of heading towards the bus stop, she made her way to the nearest Lawson. She bought the stuff that they'd usually share on their trips to her school, and with a plastic bag full of food, she made her way to the next destination; Hodaka's apartment.

The apartment complex in front of her was instantly familiar. She climbed the staircases leading up to his floor, and headed down the corridor towards his apartment. The feeling of the entire place washed her with a calming sense of familiarity. Sometimes, instead of spending time back at her place, they'd just hang out here, with Nagi tagging along once in a while.

She finally reached the front door. She lifted her hand up to knock on the wooden frame.

"Hodaka! It's me, Hina!"

And after a few knocks, she waited.

And waited.

With a little impatience growing inside her, she knocked again, hoping to get a response.

"Hodaka, it's me! Hina! Are you in there?"

But just like last time, there was nothing. Not even a single sound save for the usual pitter-patter of rain.

'Weird' she thought to herself. 'But maybe he's just in a deep sleep or something.'

She didn't have much time to wait for him to answer. Instead, she hung the plastic bag on the door knob, and once he'd woken up, he would be able to take it.

"I bought you some snacks from Lawson! I'm gonna hang them on the door knob, okay?" She didn't know why she'd even bothered to mention that. If he really was asleep, it wasn't like he was going to hear her anyway..

But after that, she made a dash to the nearest bus stop and within minutes, she was already on her way to school.

She sat by the window seat, just like she always did. But this time, without him, it just didn't feel right. She'd usually feel his warmth beside her, and occasionally his hand to feed a sandwich or onigiri to her mouth. But today, there was none of that.

As she got off the bus, she made her way down the street to her high school. Her enthusiasm, if there even was any by this point, was at an all time low. But after school, maybe he'd show up and all would be fine..

"Eh, Hina-chan? Where's Hodaka?"

Hina turned to look at the source of that familiar voice, seeing Natsumi on her scooter with a curious look on her face.

"Did you two have a fight or something?"

"Wha- What?! No! Nothing like that.." she stammered. "What makes you think that we're fighting?"

"I just thought you looked less happier than usual. You'd normally be wearing a smile right now at this time of the morning," Natsumi said as she let out an apologetic little laugh. "So if you two aren't fighting, then where is Hodaka-kun?"

Hina let out an audible sigh that made Natsumi's eyebrows cock on one side. "He's.. not here. He didn't follow me to school today. He didn't even show up by my apartment like he usually does.." she sighed an even heavier sigh. "I guess he just overslept today.."

"Mmm.. now that I think about it. That probably makes sense. He _has _been working hard trying to find a part-time job these days," Natsumi reasoned as she scratched her imaginary beard in thought. "Ah, give him some time to rest. I'm sure he'll be back to see you once he's gotten that well-deserved sleep he needs." She gave Hina a wink of reassurance.

"I hope he does.." she sighed yet again. Her eyes glanced at the time displayed on her phone, snapping her out of her droning.

"Anyway, I've got to get going now. Tell Suga-san I said hi!" She dashed off to class. God only knew how late she was now..

"See ya, Hina-chan! And I will!" Natsumi waved back at the twintail-haired girl. "That reminds me.."

* * *

"Huh, what's this?"

The middle-aged man stared grumpily at the phone currently being shoved into his face as he let out a lazy sigh. He could barely make out whatever it was on the screen, what with it being shoved so closely to his two eyeballs. He didn't need something like this distracting him from his work..

"C'mon Kei-chan, take a look!" the raven-haired lady said in a sing-song voice.

"What the heck is this?" he grumbled as he eventually gave in to the lady's insistence.

He readjusted his spectacles as he took a closer look, squinting his eyes a little to make things clearer. It took a few seconds until the image in front of him finally cleared up - and once he'd made out what it was, he almost spat out the imaginary coffee in his mouth.

"Natsumi, what is this?"

The phone in her hand displayed an image of a particularly.. inappropriate image, so to speak. It was an image of Hodaka with his back facing the camera, and behind him was Hina, her hand gripping the collar of his windbreaker and their faces in extremely close proximity - it didn't take a genius, much less someone like Suga, to figure out what those two were doing.

"Oh, you know what it is, Kei-chan," she replied with a sly little smirk on her lips as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

"Of course I _know _what it is, but _why_? Heck- _when _did you take this?" he sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You know what, don't even answer that. I have work to do and I can't have you distracting me.."

Suga went back to typing away on his laptop as if nothing had even happened. Although, his face looked a lot more creased than it was before his cheeky niece had shown him the photo.

"Aww, c'mon Kei-chan.. Aren't you happy that your _favourite _boy's finally gotten together with Hina-chan?" she said as she circled around his chair.

"He's not my favourite boy," Suga grumbled under his breath. "And why would I be happy? Those two have been a thing since what, three years ago? And it's not like it's his first kiss or anything.." he bleated on.

"Oh_?_" Now her curiosity had been piqued. "How do you know that? Did he tell you something about it?," Natsumi asked curiously as she plopped herself onto the seat right beside her uncle's table before resting her chin on the cold wooden surface.

"Of course he did," he snorted. "But I'm not going to be telling you about any of that. Now get back to work please.." the middle-aged man sighed again as he made shooing motions with his hand.

"Hmph.. you're no fun Kei-chan..," Natsumi huffed in defeat. But still, she remained there in silence as she watched her uncle typing away ever so vigorously on his laptop, earning her an expectant and annoyed look from him.

"Natsumi?"

"Kei-chan.. I'm kinda worried about Hodaka.."

He let out a curious hum at the sudden statement, enough to make him pause his continuous typing for a split second. "And why is that?"

"He's been working so hard trying to find a part-time job lately. And I can't even count the number of times I've helped take him to all these places.." she sighed.

The man sat upright as he crossed his arms with his eyebrows creasing into an accusatory look. "Ah! So that's why you've been coming in to work so late these days!"

"Hmph, I had a good reason for that. And I was only a few minutes late.." Natsumi said as a pout formed on her lips. "But still, I hope he's okay.."

Suga kept silent for awhile, his temple creasing in thought for a moment. But it was fleeting, and before long, he was already beginning to type away on his laptop again. "Ah, I'm sure he's fine. He's gone through worse.."

Natsumi sighed as she plopped her head back down onto the table, "I just hope so.."

* * *

Hina stared longingly at the entrance of her high school. Her blue eyes looked off into the distance, waiting in vain for him to suddenly pop out from around the corner to greet her like usual. But instead, all she was greeted with was no one. Her schoolmates made their way past her, and soon, she walked along the flow of exiting students.

Perhaps he must've been busy today. That was all she could really think of. It wasn't like him to disappear like this out of the blue.. save for the time after that 'incident'. But there had to be a reasonable explanation for all of this, was what Hina thought as she made her way to the bus stop.

Were they.. fighting? She shook her head, immediately shooing away those thoughts out of her mind. There was no way they were fighting - she'd know dammit! Heck, she remembered him acting like usual just yesterday..

Hmm… There had to be something else.. Maybe.. Maybe he was busy finding a job? Yea.. and maybe he was just a little too occupied today of all days..

She continued her train of thought as she got onto the bus, pressing her head into the window as she continued to ponder about her boyfriend's odd absence. Once the bus had stopped at her destination, an idea sprung up in her mind.

'Maybe I'll just go visit his apartment for awhile and see how he's doing,' she thought. And maybe she would even be able to berate him for leaving her feeling lonely for the day, she snickered to herself.

Before long, she'd finally arrived at the footsteps of his apartment complex. She made her way up the stairways as her hand reached into one of the pockets lining her blazer. Her fingers felt the coldness of a metal object, and she knew what it was. She took hold of it, pulling it out of her pocket.

It was a key; a key to his apartment, and attached to it was a tiny teru teru bozu doll as a keychain - Hodaka's handiwork of course. He'd given it to her during one of their many evenings at his quaint little apartment. 'My apartment is _your _apartment' was what he told her, or something along those lines. He sure had a lot of trust in her to give her the key to his own home..

Once she made her way up the stairs, she walked down the corridor leading to his apartment. Dèja vu.. she was just here this morning, and here she was back again.

But something seemed a little off.. As she came closer to his apartment, the alarms in her head were already ringing throughout her ears.

The plastic bag from this morning.. it was still there hanging on his door handle..

She inched her way closer, gasping as she realised that not a single thing had been touched or disturbed in the bag. The onigiris, the sandwiches - they were all still there in pristine condition.

This wasn't like him.. There was no way that for all this time, he hadn't stepped a single foot out of his apartment. How many hours had it even been? She took a glance at the time displayed on her phone.

_4:00 PM_

9 hours.. For 9 hours this bag had been sitting here untouched by his door handle. Something was _definitely _wrong.

Hina tried her best to dispel the horrible thoughts and worst case scenarios beginning to flood her mind. She knew that it was just her paranoia starting to act up. But still..

She threw the chaos of thoughts aside, quickly deciding to shove the key in her hands into the keyhole. She was going to get to the bottom of this, and she hoped that whatever it was, Hodaka was okay..

As the door clicked, she gently pushed it open. She was greeted by an eerie darkness that seemed to spill out from the room. It was almost pitch black, save for a stray ray of light coming from the other end of the room.

Inside, her mind chanted again and again like a mantra, _'Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay..'_

"Hello? Hodaka? It's me, Hina!" She was answered with only a heart-plunging silence. "Hodaka, are you-"

* * *

**As you can see, this is where I left off. If it's any consolation, the story would've continued with Hina finding Hodaka lying down, groaning on the floor. From the title of this chapter, you can guess what happened to him..**

**Either way, the seventh chapter was supposed to be this heartfelt and fluffy story about Hina taking care of Hodaka with Natsumi and Suga happening to stumble by Hodaka's house once they'd gotten a call from Hina telling them he was sick. Yea, I know, not the most intriguing of chapters but it was meant to be something relaxing (for me).. hehe. I honestly don't know if I would've even continued the story after _this _chapter, but I had a lot of one-shots in mind and well, none of it ever saw the light of day.**

**Anyway, enough of my rambling. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I guess this really is the end.**

**Sayonara my friends.**


End file.
